• Download the infographic as a PDF
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© 2011 WordStream, Inc. 

Facebook Wall of Shame: A Collection of Epic Facebook Failures

Facebook, the social network everyone loves to hate. Or hates to love. The relationship between Facebook and its users has always been a tricky one, due in part to many users utter dependence on the site for communication and social interaction.

Facebook has been the central social network that connects people from all over the world and all parts of your life. There are a lot of great things Facebook offers: the chance to reconnect with old friends, share your photos, list your likes, join interest groups, and more. Despite the many wonders the social network offers, we felt that Facebook, boasting approximately 800 million active users and an estimated $4.27 billion in annual revenue, was overdue for a critique. When Facebook released their iPad social utility app in October, which many considered a disappointing failure of an application, we decided it was time to file a list of Facebook failure grievances.

Facebook Failure List

There have been some epic Facebook failures during the long journey from Mark Zuckerberg pet project to social media giant. Some Facebook failure moments include:

• Ongoing privacy concerns and backlash: Facebook faces continuing criticism for non-transparent, user-unfriendly privacy policy changes.  Facebook changes its privacy policies regularly, with default settings that force users to share more profile information, photos, contact information, and personal details than they would normally like.
• Irritating UX changes: Each month Facebook seems to bring in another update, to many users annoyance and agitation. From real-time tickers and obnoxious friends chat windows, to the new forced timeline profile layout, Facebook’s constant interface alternations and format adjustments are a headache for users.
• Facebook Deals: Facebook’s failed efforts at competing with Groupon-style social deals. This Facebook failure only lasted four months.
• Facebook Lite: This was supposed to be an alternative to the normal bandwidth-hungry Facebook for users on slower networks, but this Facebook fail disappeared after eight months.
• Facebook FBML: FBML was a markup language Facebook fail, in which Facebook developers attempted to make their own version of HTML that would enable a company to create a custom landing page for their Facebook company page.
• Facebook Gifts: With Facebook Gifts, users had the opportunity to give silly little picture gifts to friends. They were fun and cute for awhile, until Facebook started to expect people to pay $2 to send a thumbnail image of a dog in a birthday hat.
• Facebook Message: The 2012 launch of Facebook Message enabled users to send and receive Facebook messages with an @facebook email address. While people still use Facebook messages, it didn’t eliminate Gmail or revolutionize message sharing the way some predicted it might.
• Facebook Places: The Foursquare-esk Facebook Places is another addition to the Facebook wall of shame. Facebook Places gave users the ability to update the location for anything shared, including images, updates, and posts. This practice of over-sharing was short lived though, when Facebook itself pulled the plug on Places.
• “Quit Facebook Day”: In June 2011, Facebook lost 6 million US users as part of a Facebook blackout push. This was the first time that figure dropped since its inception, proving that not all users were willing to put up with Facebook’s  lack of consideration for users’ online privacy or accustomed routines.  

Documenting Facebook Failures: It’s Nothing Personal

We’ve seen a variety of responses in regards to our Facebook Wall of Shame infographic. Some loved it and considered it a welcomed critique. Others were angered that WordStream would dare talk badly of their beloved social media platform. Many were convinced that we had a bone to pick with Facebook or had a personal vendetta.

Of course that’s not the case; we simply wanted to point out some of the missteps of a company that has done many things well—after all, this is Facebook we are talking about! We don’t show preference either—just take a look at our Google Graveyard infographic, detailing Google’s various flops and failed products.

This Facebook Fail Infographic is Property of WordStream, Inc.

WordStream is a provider of PPC management software, PPC tools, and a FREE keyword research tool for discovering profitable keywords for PPC and SEO. Want to learn more about how social media can benefit your business? Read WordStream’s social media interview series, or learn how social media can benefit your SEO keyword optimizing efforts.

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