News and Trends in the Telecommunications Industry

With 200 million members and currently the number one social networking site, Facebook is doing a great job connecting people. You can email and chat, upload photos and videos, post whatever it is that’s on your mind at the moment, play games. Really cool, isn’t it?

So what’s the catch? Unfortunately, you could get banned from using certain features—or worse, get your account disabled—for the same reasons that made you fall in love with the site in the first place.

For example, many Facebook users complain of having the chat and the comment posting features disabled due to so-called overuse. Some have had their accounts deactivated for good after adding too many friends. But that’s the point: how can you be accused of socializing too much on a social networking site like Facebook?

Cases of Facebook accounts getting disabled are nothing new. In 2007, TechCrunch published a story on it here. Some of the replies make you think that Facebook could just be randomly deleting  accounts.

How can you avoid getting your account deactivated? GetSatisfaction offers some tips here.

I, for one, have been banned from posting comments for almost two weeks now. While I was glad Facebook didn’t totally delete my account, I still wanted answers. When I searched the Facebook site and the web for this purpose, I learned that spamming and/or posting offensive/vulgar content are certain grounds for getting that feature blocked.

As far as I know, I never spammed anybody at all or made any comments that can be considered offensive or vulgar. In fact, many of my contacts post way more comments that can be considered annoying or spamming, yet Facebook left their accounts untouched.

Adding frustration to affected users is the fact that Facebook’s customer service is not helpful at all. When I checked out Facebook’s help section, I only found more disgruntled users and no answers whatsoever: How to Contact Facebook About a Warning.  All complaints and not a single reply from Facebook.

Some of the comments posted are the following:

“This is a social site, we are trying to socialize. They need to improve how they monitor what is so-called abuse and how they can be reached to rectify erroneous warnings or blockages.” - Al Griggs

“I’ve been blocked apparently for too much chatting too, what a crock!! Too much chatting on a social network, you’ve got to be kidding me!!! Well, it’s been 7 days now and I’m starting to think they’re never gonna let me back on…” - Kathy Williams

“I just got a warning for misusing the site for spam when in a chat message I wrote “:)” and another one when I wrote “hahaha.” - Kathy Hoos.

These users get this message whenever they try to post comments:

“You are blocked from making wall posts due to continued overuse of this feature. Your failure to comply with an earlier warning has resulted in this block.

Please note that this block is temporary and can last anywhere from a few hours to a few days. Facebook cannot lift this block for any reason. Please be patient and refrain from using this feature for a few days.

Continued misuse of Facebook’s features may result in your account being permanently disabled.”

Note that it says “a few hours or a few days” but some users have been unable to post comments for more than two weeks.

The most curious thing is that, after you post a reply about your own experience, you will get numerous emails saying, “Your question in the Help Center has been answered.” But when you follow the link, it brings you to the same thread where users are complaining among themselves.

To make web socialization a more dynamic and enjoyable experience for users for which it is designed, Facebook needs to communicate clear guidelines and tone down what many perceive as its “Nazi” policies. And yes, people expect to find real, “helpful” answers when they check out the “Help” section.

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President Barack Obama’s choice to be the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission  has vowed to make broadband service available and affordable to consumers.

Julius Genachowski said during the hearing of the Senate Commerce committee, that the country’s broadband service should be accessible and affordable to be “a 21st-century infrastructure that generates economic growth, opportunity, prosperity.”

The U.S. Congress has tasked the FCC to create a national broadband plan in line with Obama’s vision of a highly efficient and accessible broadband infrastructure.

The hearing was part of the Senate’s deliberations on whether Genachowski is the right man for the post.

Obama earlier nominated Genachowski, a technology expert and former classmate at Harvard Law School, to be the chairman of the FCC.  Genachowski also served as a top man during Obama’s presidential campaign and helped the latter clinch more supporters through social networking.

Genachowski’s nomination is expected to get the committee’s nod this week and then sent to the Senate for voting.

Analysts consider Genachowski a frontrunner for the FCC post due to his extensive background in technology. He served as chief counsel for former FCC chairman Reed Hundt, worked at Barry Diller’s IAC/InterActiveCorp (IACI.O) and other technology firms like LaunchBox Digital and Rock Greek Ventures. He has also served as a board member/adviser to Ticketmaster (TKTM.O), The Motley Fool, Web.com (WWWW.O), and other companies.

Choosing someone who understands technology and is perfectly attuned to current challenges in the industry is crucial to addressing the inefficiencies at the FCC. This early, analysts predict Genachowski will do a better job than his predecessors, particularly current FCC head and Republican Kevin Martin, whose management style is perceived to be against the best interests of the cable industry.

Analysts say Genachowski’s background, coupled with his ties with Obama, could give the telecoms industry the much-needed focus that was lacking in the previous administration.

With Genachowski at the helm of FCC, he is in for tough challenges ahead, one of which is the call for FCC to adopt more transparent policies as pointed out by Senator Jay Rockefeller.

According to Rockefeller, the FCC defied its own rules by alerting telecom lobbyists in advance about critical voting on issues, while not keeping consumer and public-interest groups in the  loop.

Rockefeller also criticized the FCC for not publishing its reports online and not making it website user-friendly for information hunters.

Genachowski is also being urged to address the monopoly of industry giants like AT&T and Verizon Communications. Industry observers say FCC should also give room for rival wireless carriers to grow.

Genachowski has acknowledged that there’s a long list of to dos for the new FCC head, particularly to bring the country’s communications infrastructure right into the 21st century. He  sums up the role of the FCC by saying that the main job of the agency is to see to it that taxpayers are getting their money’s worth.

Among those needing immediate attention is the plan to bring broadband to unserved and underserved areas. The underserved areas refer to places with slow Internet or those whose neighboring towns generally have broadband.

The move is part of the economic stimulus package which allots $7.2 billion for the purpose.

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