FB has been down all day. This should be a HUGE wake-up call to folks doing business exclusively on ANY domain you don’t own.

 

For most of us, Facebook is a way to stay in touch with far-flung family members and friends. But for far too many, it’s the domain they use exclusively for their business outreach.

 

Today’s hours-long outage (which continues even as I write this), is costing the businesses that are on Facebook exclusively up to millions of dollars in lost revenue.

 

You should never, ever put all your eggs in one basket, whether that basket is Facebook, Amazon, Upwork, or any of the other online portals that allow you to post a business presence to them.

 

You should have your own website and your own mailing lists

so that you’re never at the mercy of another company’s mercy (or mercilessness). 

 

No one knows yet why Facebook has gone dark. Speculation includes the fact that recent allegations against the company may have scared them right out of business. OR that they’re scrambling to purge the bad actors they know of so they can say (and prove) they’re working on the matter.  OR that … you know…  all speculation is rumor until the official word is issued (which may or may not be the whole truth or full story).

 

But no matter the reason for today’s outage, the fact remains that no one should have all their business eggs in anyone else’s basket.  If the federal government uncovers a crime in the making, or in the past which is ongoing and a threat to the nation, it can shut down the domain, leaving the businesses on it up the creek without a paddle.

 

I hope today’s event is a huge wake-up call to those of you who are relying on big-name (or small name) companies to keep your presence in front of millions of potential customers. THEY own the email addresses; you don’t.

 

When you have your own domain and website, you can gather names and contact information with a simple opt-in so you will always have access to the people who buy from you.

 

When you don’t, you’re a sitting duck for an even bigger wakeup call.

 

So stop quacking and get your own website and domain if you don’t already have one.

 

If you need help, contact LisaATdancinggoatwebdesignDOTcom.  She can get you up and running with a basic e-commerce site in a day (including up to five items and a payment system), usually for under $3500.00  It’s the best $3500.00 you’ll ever spend — and it will be done right.

 

If Facebook is freaking you out, not just due to today’s outage but for other reasons, too, make the change today so FB isn’t your only recourse. If it doesn’t clean up its act, it may go the way of the dinosaur it replaced (remember MySpace?) sooner than you, or they, might think.