Drew B's take on tech PR

My experiment in Facebook whitewalling - where I delete my account every time I log off

** Update 26 Nov: after two days of trying this I have updated my post. See the bottom of the post for my experiences **

A new way of using Facebook is emerging, mainly amongst teens. It's called whitewalling, and it is when users are concerned about the content posted on to the web about them without their control. With whitewalling, the user deletes all messages, wall posts and comments once they have been read. There is literally no trace of them. 

Many whitewallers actually delete their entire Facebook account when logging off and then reactivate it when logging on next.

This means: 

• No photos, comments or messages appear when the user is offline (think about the impact on offline messaging - ie email - being killed off completely)
• No history of activity, so nothing to see when looking up discussions, activity, photos and chatter (think about the impact on how organisations use the web to research and understand consumer trends)
• Total control and reassurance that nothing nasty will appear online (for people who live their lives online, this is a huge reassurance)
• Users cannot even be found when not online. Their online identity does not exist if they are offline

I brought this trend up with a client earlier this week and they were fascinated at the potential future impact of this trend on the communications function. And now I am too. So I am starting an experiment in whitewalling myself. 

I have a new Facebook account, and will be adding the kind of friends to it that I have not been connected to with my main Facebook account in the past - namely the kind of people I do connect with on Twitter and Linkedin. Friend me if you like - my whitewalling Facebook account is here. Here's what it looks like: 

Every time I log off I will delete the account. When I log back on, I'll reactivate. And through the day, I will delete things as they appear. 

I'll let you know how this goes, to see if the effort is worth it and how it changes things. 

Update 1: 

After two days of whitewalling, here are my observations. 

1. This is really easy. Deactivating when you log off requires 20 seconds extra. And reactivating takes no time at all. It's the same as logging on. This is nothing for a teen who wants to ensure comments amongst friends don't get in front of the parent / teacher / snooper or stalker / wrong friends / enemies / etc. Everyone they know is on Facebook. Or for the worker who wants to keep their personal and work lives manageable. For the whitewaller, Facebook is essential. Everyone they know uses Facebook, and this is their way of managing security and privacy in a way that Facebook does not facilitate. 
2. Deactivating your account does not delete your friends or any content. This all springs back into place when you reactivate. 
3. I'm finding from my new friends that I didn't used to be friends with (I've added them since my experiment) that a LOT of people mix work with pleasure on Facebook. I don't. I share family photos, suffer the embarassment of bad photos, etc. But almost no work-related connections on there. People who share everything however seem to be the people that get whitewalling the quickest. Those that don't get it tend to be people who do not rely on Facebook at all, or those who have a well-managed friend group.
4. Broadly speaking, I'm surprised at how simple this is and how good this feels to keep the wall clean, keep my inbox empty and keep my security online. If there's demand from people to do this then social networks must cater for it or suffer. And organisations need to adapt to the white wall of user generated content (or lack thereof). 

Update 2: 

How to whitewall for yourself. Instead of logging off, do the following: 

1. Click on Account / Settings
2. Click on Deactivate Account (you'll be presented with four photos of friends who will miss you!)
3. Select a reason then click confirm
4. Type password and confirm with the on-screen code

To re-activate: just log on. It all comes back!

5 new technologies that comms, PR and marketing pros should try out

About a year ago I wrote a post about five new technologies I was using to get by in my job (this was about the time I launched 33 Digital. A lot has changed then). Here's the link to the article. I still use all of them now as well. Phew! 

So it's time I shared five more that I have recently started using in my work life to get by, and I'm sharing in case you might consider this of interest too: 

Path - This is billed as the anti-Facebook, and all the right people are talking about it. On Path you upload a photo to the network and it is shared with your friends - But you are only allowed 50 friends max. It creates a system where you share things that matter more to you, and it redefined how you behave online. As Path is so new, functionality is limited, but so was Twitter when it was new too. What makes Path stand out is its beauty and ease of use, and it's backing. Watch out for Path's growth in the future. 

Instagram - If you want a more attractive and social alternative to Twitpic, this is it. Instagram lets you edit the photos you take before you post them, attracting a more photography-savvy user-base. The photo stream becomes a social network in itself, but also connects to your other networks, like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and Foursquare.  

Posterous - This isn't new, but is making a resurgence and we've started using is as an internal comms system in 33 Digital across our international offices (props to Luke for the idea as well). The killer punch with Posterous is that you can post from email or the web, then read it via email or the web / RSS / etc. So you can use Posterous, like we do, as a dead DEAD easy-to-use collaborative information sharing system that can be open like a blog or closed like an intranet. Win. 

Boxcar - I've written before about how I use Boxcar but it just doesn't stop being useful to me on a daily basis. You set it up as an app on your phone and it turns web alerts into pings that look more like an SMS. In other words, if you want to track a trend, brand name, spokesperson, headline or just your mention on Twitter, then Boxcar buzzes your pocket. Crisis comms in a box. 

Plancast - one of a new breed of super-simple and intuitive planning social networks. Plancast is Upcoming meets Twitter. Tell Plancast what you're doing and it will share it with your social network. Look up the place you're going next, and you'll see who else is planning to go. Essential for people that are going to conferences, events or even just socials. From the promotion side and also for serial networkers. [here's the Plancast page for Le Web in December for example. About 400 people on there]

Path live now in the UK

A few of us in the London 33 office were talking this evening about how the hottest new social network, Path, isn't yet available in the UK.

Well this evening Path popped up in the UK market. It's now available to register for and use. Check @Path on Twitter for links, background and buzz.

Path's getting all the right chatter from all the right people it seems. It's the anti-social network. Your stream can be shared with just 50 people.

I'm drewbenvie @ gmail.com on Path, so add me if you're on there soon.

Update - an hour after I wrote this, Path announced its global launch. Here's their promo video. Love it!