Google vs. Facebook: This time it's personal
Is this town big enough for two massive social networks? Apparently Facebook doesn't think so
Follow @ifw_cringelyIt appears the Google+/Facebook wars are on in earnest.
Case du jour: Late last week, U.K. Web designer Michael Lee Johnson decided he wanted more of his Facebook friends to join his Google+ account, so he created an ad for it using Facebook's self-serve ad network. It ran for all of an hour before Facebook responded -- not merely by pulling that ad, but by canceling all of Johnson's other Facebook ads and killing his advertising account.
[ Also on InfoWorld.com: Don't be fooled by Cringely's Facebook face slaps; he thinks Google+ is mostly a minus too. | For a humorous take on the tech industry's shenanigans, subscribe to Robert X. Cringely's Notes from the Underground newsletter and follow Cringely on Twitter. ]
Johnson posted the response he got from Facebook on -- where else? -- Google+:
Your account has been disabled. All of your adverts have been stopped and should not be run again on the site under any circumstances. Generally, we disable an account if too many of its adverts violate our Terms of Use or Advertising guidelines. Unfortunately we cannot provide you with the specific violations that have been deemed abusive. Please review our Terms of Use and Advertising guidelines if you have any further questions.
Touchy, touchy. It appears Mr. Johnson ran afoul of item No. 6 ("Refusal of ads") in Facebook's advertising guidelines; to wit:
We may refuse ads at any time for any reason, including our determination that they promote competing products or services or negatively affect our business or relationship with our users.
Nice. Given that Facebook is trying to get into all kinds of ancillary businesses -- like video streaming and financial transactions, to name but two -- it will be interesting to see how Facebook defines "competing products or services" down the road.
Still, nowhere in that document does it say "create an ad for a competitor and we'll kill your account." Think Facebook is panicking just a bit? I think Zuckerberg is sweating even profusely than usual.
