Back on Christmas Eve, I told you about Seppukoo, a site that helps you commit virtual identity suicide. Facebook sent them a cease and desist letter, but they’re still here and doing the digital Kevorkian thing.

Meanwhile, suicidemachine.org is another site designed to help you eliminate your virtual self so you can spend more time with your actual self.

Snarky nature of these sites aside, I suspect there’s something bigger at play here: The clouds of a social media backlash may be gathering on the horizon. I first noted them back in September 2007, when kids at the Ypulse Tween Mashup conference were talking about the next big thing in social media being the unplugging from social media to focus on their actual lives.

That Facebook may be heading into court over Seppukoo is telling, too: Clearly they see the site more as a serious threat than a casual diversion.

Takeaway for marketers: Now, more than ever, as you operate in the world of Web 2.0 (I wish that buzzword itself would commit suicide!) you need to be focusing on providing value, not simply having a presence.

JANUARY 6 UPDATE: Facebook kills Suicide Machine.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 4th, 2010 at 6:00 am and is filed under Internet Stuff, Marketing Takeaways, Social Media.