I’m a little late on this one, but I was thrilled earlier this week to see Facebook make “Dummies Man” available as a “free gift”.  This was accomplished to honor the publication of “Facebook For Dummies.”  Our wonderful authors Carolyn Abram and Leah Pearlman are Facebook employees and helped pull this off for us.  Thank you to Louise who sent me one as a gift and to Carolyn, Leah and Blake Ross for making it happen.  It was most appreciated!

First, they came for Dummies Man.

Then they came for Robert Scoble.

Who will speak out when they come for you?

Some time ago I blogged about Dummies Man’s profile being pulled from Facebook.  I’ve got some good news and bad news about this. 

The good news is that my efforts with Facebook customer service have paid off and the profile for Dummies Man has been reactivated. 

The bad news (ok, maybe not bad, but not good, at least in my book) is that Dummies Man has a new name.  His name?  Ellen Gerstein.  Search for Ellen Gerstein on FB and you’ll see two of me.  One with my beautiful shining visage, the other with D-Man.  OK, there are some other Ellen Gersteins, but they don’t count here.

Here’s how this played out.  I wrote to FB and asked why “Dummies Man”, a character we own, is not permitted to maintain a profile.  This is the note I got in return:

Fake names are a violation of our Terms of Use. Facebook requires users to provide their full first and last names (i.e. no initials). Impersonating anyone or anything is prohibited. Nicknames can be used in the form of FirstName ‘NickName’ LastName, but only if they are a variation on your real first or last name, such as ‘Bob’ instead of ‘Robert’.

If you would like to use this profile again, just get back to us with your real name, and we will reactivate the account for you.

So, in an effort to save the profile, which our intern Joe lovingly created, I got back to them as me, Ellen Gerstein, and asked them to reactivate it.  Then, I went into the rejuvenated account and tried to change the name.  Dummies Man/Ellen Gerstein was a no go.  As was Ellen “Dummies” Gerstein.  And many other variations.  Why?  Because…

Before confirming your name change request, please read the following.

• Your Facebook profile must be attached to your real name.
• You must include your full name.
• Celebrity names, nicknames, or other fake names are not allowed and will not be approved.
• Obscenity, curses, and swear words are not allowed and will not be approved.
• ISn’t~ ThIs <3 AnN0YiNg 2 ReAd? Non-standard capitalization and special characters are not allowed and will not be approved.
• Do not try to combine sentences into one word; Jane Lookatmysupercoolnewnickname Smith will not be approved.
• We review all name changes, so this may take a while.

This is getting really complicated.  Any suggestions for a name that ISN’T necessarily mine that could be used for Dummies Man and not be in violation of FB rules???  And, again, Fake Steve Jobs can be on the site as Steve Jobs, and Dummies Man gets banned?  Really!

Here’s more on D Man’s big ig from Facebook that I talked about yesterday.  I’ve had a number of people (thanks Kris) say that Dummies Man should give up on the profile thing and create a page.  We’re working on that, but it’s not the same thing.  A profile allows you to do things a page cannot.

 And why, for the life of me, does Fake Steve Jobs allowed to have a Facebook page?  We are Dummies Man, even if he doesn’t exist.  Fake Steve Jobs is someone pretending to be Steve Jobs.  How is that allowed when Dummies Man is banned?  I’m not saying I want FSJ to be removed.  Far from it.  I think he can and should be allowed to coexist with D Man on Facebook, and hey, want not off.  Maybe they could do a spa day together or something?

This greeted me this afternoon when I was logging into Facebook… 

Disabled (!!!!!)

Why was my account disabled?

Your account was disabled because you violated Facebook’s Terms of Use, to which you agreed when you first registered for an account on the site. Accounts can either be disabled for repeat offenses or for one, particularly egregious violation.

Our Code of Conduct outlines the types of content we do not allow on the site. This includes any obscene, pornographic, or sexually explicit photos, as well as any photos that depict graphic violence. We also remove content, photo or written, that threatens, intimidates, harasses, or brings unwanted attention or embarrassment to an individual or group of people.

So, what did I do?  Well, first off, Ellen Gerstein is still very much a part of Facebook.  However, Dummies Man is not.

Back in the good ole summer of ‘07, I came up with the fun idea to create a FB profile for Dummies Man.  I asked our summer intern to work up the profile, and truth be told he did a job that exceeded my expectations and my imagination. 

Over the months since, Dummies Man has been friending people, commenting on profiles and fan pages, and benignly exploring the site.  It wasn’t a huge organized marketing campaign, more a way for us to dip a toe of the brand into the social networking waters.

I guess I should be happy that Facebook takes a more active role in trolling the site for, well, trolls.  Yet, I’m not happy because Dummies Man isn’t a troll.  As an extension of our brand, he was there to have some fun.  People got such a kick out of getting friend requests from him.  But that’s all ended.  What’s really creepy is that all evidence of him has been removed from the site.  No posts, no thrown books (he was never one to pick up a sheep), and no D Man on any friend lists.  It’s a sad day for me in Facebook.