What I learned when Facebook took my page away for 24hrs | Kat's Thoughts
Facebook is an interesting animal isn't it? It's social and business and life all wrapped in a bunch of rules, surrounded by people you may like, some you need, and a lot you really don't know.
All that aside, if you are truly a Facebooker, once your page is gone it's almost like a violation of self. Don't get it twisted, I'm not talking physical attacks or anything of that nature, but it was certainly a visceral reaction when I realized a few weeks ago that I could no longer log on and even more so once I realized that my page was actually gone.
10+ years of pics, comments, commentary and connections gone. One minute I was browsing and the next I was hitting the literal and figurative "blue" wall. Information was asked for and I supplied it, along with googling what happens when this occurs, and it wasn't promising. No response and no recovery were the answers I found and slightly more surprising that this occurs quite often for no real reason other than one of Facebook's rules was "possibly" broken.
I'm used to Facebook's random application of rules that typically oppress free speech, as I've been in "Facebook Jail" so often that I can slightly set my alarm clock due to frequency. I can almost predict if a post will lead to a 3, 7, or 30 day lockout. But this was different, my page was gone, to the banished to the memory bank of my life.
And with that thought in mind, I allowed myself to wallow in self pity for an hour or so, maybe two...possibly three. And then I said okay, time to get to work building in other areas. I know some are going, but it's Facebook i'ts not that serious, I agree to disagree. It's serious. It's business. I personally conduct a lot of business on Facebook - Shades Retreat, Books, Wandering Soup, and Wandering Travel Tours. Facebook is a linchpin in my various ventures, it's how I connect with those who need my services, those who like my brand of me and those who just want to be.
All that gone.
And a lesson learned. Harshly but learned. I did what I should have done months ago: started working on ensuring that my other means of reaching folks were up and running, ensuring that all my other social media avenues are up and running smoothly. Twitter in particular, although that's another issue in itself. Instagram, again another issue--Anyone have any connects there?
Twenty-four hours later, with no notice, my page was once again visible and I could log in. And honestly I wasn't that thrilled. I had adjusted, moved on and was grinding (at least in my head) in another direction.
So now comes the real work-- building with Facebook as a part, but not the summation, of my social media goals and ensuring that "when" this occurs again it's just a minor hiccup in my life and not the dreaded "oh no!" moment that it was.
Summation: Don't put all your eggs in one basket and download your Facebook data often.
