Facebook Encounters Slowdown, Offers No Explanation

Users around the world today complained of prolonged periods of slow or no access to Facebook either through their browser or mobile phone app. The social networking giant did not offer any sort of comment as to what caused the extended period of technical difficulties, but that didn't stop frustrated users from taking their anger to other social networking sites. That is to say, there was a lot of tweeting about Facebook's slow connection.

One memorable Twitter message that was quoted was, "Facebook has been slow/down since the IPO. Are they all too busy selling their shares and buying fancy things? I might be." This kind of comment underlines just how much more Facebook will have to come under the microscope now that it will be a publicly traded company. This also begs the question of if getting listed will lead to more transparency since there's more accountability, or less transparency since Facebook now has to make its shareholders happy above anyone else.

The initial public offering has been destined to be a spectacle like no other, but there cannot be any hiccups. Facebook has a lot of concerns on its plate, including reliable site performance, privacy issues, and all sorts of other very delicate and complex problems. As for today's slowdown, analyst Ezra Gottheil was quoted on Computerworld as saying, "It's only a problem if it lasts a long time, or recurs. One bad morning isn't going to hurt them."

[via Computerworld]