Over the weekend some Facebook users experienced difficulties in accessing certain parts of the social network and all of the content contained within them. Profiles, Timeline and Pages were affected, with some users unable to view the wall posts, updates, photos, comments and more that they and their friends have posted to Facebook.
The issue was eventually fixed by Facebook, and a spokesperson offered a statement to tech news site Mashable:
“Earlier today, we experienced an issue that prevented some people from loading Timeline or Pages content for a brief period of time. We resolved the issue quickly, and content is back to normal. We’re sorry for any inconvenience we may have caused.”
So while this statement addresses the fact that there was indeed a problem which has now been fixed, it doesn’t go into details about what may have caused the issue. Everything does seem be back to normal now, but this isn’t the first time in recent weeks that things have gone wrong with Facebook.
In October some users found that they were locked out of Facebook, unable to access their accounts, and therefore unable to access Facebook Messages, wall posts etc. Taken in isolation you could say that these incidents are just minor inconveniences, but they should serve as a stark reminder that social networks are fallible. Unless you have your own copy of the content on your social network profiles, then you are never truly in control.
While we still keep the faith that everything we create and store online will be safe there forever, the harsh truth is that no matter what precautions the networks take, accidents can and unfortunately will happen. Don’t be left clutching at thin air if the clouds suddenly disperse – take control of you data today with SocialSafe.