Web Follow

Facebook quickly reversed its decision to ban egoblogger Robert Scoble. He promised not to repeat the stunt of scraping their site for information about his friends. Facebook, for its part, said that the banning was the result of an automated process -- but it's unlikely to give up its data without similar fights. Scoble quickly went live on Mogulus to hold court and entertain questions, support, and criticism. And he's having a grand old time! The whole incident lets Scoble play martyr, rebel, and scamp. He knew what the consequences would be. He was not duped by Plaxo, which provided him the Facebook-scraping tool, into being an unwitting lab rat. "Yes, I violated the agreement. I sometimes drive 80 mph on the freeway too." We know. And "Have you heard of Gandhi? He didn't follow the law." Yes, he led India to independence from Britain, Robert. Although the Plaxo escapade certainly started conversations, the only result from this short-lived incident is some buzz for a third-tier social network and a blogger who doesn't need more attention. Should we start trying nonviolent resistance?