Facebook’s failures, criticisms & missteps [Infographic]

Facebook finally released its long-awaited iPad app last week. Most celebrated the fact that the social networking giant had broken out of the deadlock in its negotiations with Apple. WordStream Inc., a provider of search marketing software and services, seems to have been left particularly cold by the app, claiming that it was “too little, too late”.

The company has released a “Facebook Wall of Shame” infographic detailing Facebook’s criticisms, missteps and outright failures in the seven years since its inception.

The social networking giant boasts approximately 800-million active users worldwide and an estimated US$4.27-billion in estimated annual revenue — but you don’t approach the 1-billion-users mark without making a few mistakes along the way.

Some of Facebook’s more notable errors in judgement include:

• A slew of privacy snafus: Facebook repeatedly faces criticism for its user-unfriendly privacy policy and default settings that force daily overshares.
• Constant UX changes: Another day, another Facebook update. The latest changes include a real-time ticker sidebar that turns your friends’ updates into what WordStream calls a “stream of spam”.
• Facebook Deals: Facebook’s attempt to compete with social deals companies like Groupon and LivingSocial was short-lived — in fact, this venture lasted just four months!
• Facebook Lite: This was supposed to be a less bandwidth-hungry version of Facebook for use on slower networks, such as one might typically find in emerging markets, but the company killed it after eight months.
• “Quit Facebook Day“: In June 2011, Facebook lost 6-million US users, the first time that figure has dropped since its inception. The addictive, mood-killing quality of Facebook along with privacy concerns have driven former fans to quit in droves.

Read about Facebook’s other failed products and lapses in judgement in this hard-hitting infographic: