The World Is My Network

For this post i’m inspired by recent reports of Facebook disabling user accounts but I could just as easily be talking about any social network past, present or future.

It happens easily.  You’re trying to get your pet project off the ground.  You market on at every venue you feel is appropriate and then one of them just takes off.  Rapid user “fan” growth, dialog, comment.. real fans!  Things are looking good.  You watch your numbers grow each week all the  while tweaking your presentation and without realizing it neglecting the other networks you established.

Then the unthinkable happens… your account disappears.  Either some anti-spam routine inadvertently singles out your account and you receive a cold email like this one received by Michael Finberg of The Daily Minute, a hit web comedy series.

Hi,

Your account was disabled because your behavior on the site was identified as harassing or threatening to other people on Facebook. Prohibited behavior includes, but is not limited to:

• Sending friend requests to people you don’t know
• Regularly contacting strangers through unsolicited Inbox messages
• Soliciting others for dating or business purposes

After reviewing your situation, we have determined that your behavior violated Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities. You will no longer be able to use Facebook. This decision is final and cannot be appealed.

Please note that for technical and security reasons, we will not provide you with any further details about this decision.

Thanks,
The Facebook Team

You can read Michaels full account on his blog.

The destruction caused by this type of incident are twofold.  First (and unavoidable) is the immediate loss of moment.  Any promotions are contests you may have been running to promote your cause can pretty much be tossed aside.  The bigger problem however, is how do you regain that lost momentum and core user base?  The answer is by planning ahead for just such catastrophe.

1) Purchase your own domain name.  This is as close to brick and mortar ownership you are going to get in the ether. From here you can do one of two things, redirect the name to your profile page on your most active social network or better yet to a traditionally hosted website or blog.

The site can either be a fully produced portal for your brand or a simple landing page with redirects to your various online profiles.

Use this domain name in all your marketing material.  Now should your social site become unavailable, your true fans will know how to find you.

2) Archive your significant content offline. If you regularly post lengthy notes or entries, compose them in a word processor first and save them locally to your hard drive.  Then cut and paste them into your social media site.  This way you have a way to recreate your most significant content.  Don’t forget to save and neatly organize any streamable media you may use as well.  It’s going to be a lengthy process to upload them to a new social venue but having them at the ready will certainly expedite your mission.

3) Establish a stand alone mailing list. Use the newsletter feature of your hosting provider or seek out a 3rd party if you have a large list.  Don’t forget to back up all the information too!  Use a spreadsheet program like Excel that will allow you to export the file in plain text so you will be able to quickly import your list to alternative providers if needed.

4) Diversify.  Just because one particular platform is working well for you now, don’t abandon the others.  Keep them steadily updated even if not at the pace of your main site.  Things move fast these days.  Sites go in and out of vogue quickly.  Be ready and alert.

Remember, if you’re relying on free services your rights may be limited.  Reading the fine print usually reveals they are well protected against any damages you incur by their failures.  You must take it upon yourself to have an exit plan that will cause the least amount of disruption to your cause.