We Apologise for the Inconvenience

You'd think that Facebook, of all people, oops sorry I mean brands, would get always being in beta and could add a dash of charm to their 'we're down' page.

I'm increasingly coming to feel that charm is a crucial element to communication  in today's flat world.

The internet disrupts traditional notions of authority, government and brands, because of the increased access to information and the empowerment of having our own media and voice, which means that increasingly brands need to act like real people -  by being nice, polite, charming if possible.

We apologize [with the z - grrr - they can target you for advertisers based on what you had for breakfast but can't localise the spelling for the UK?]  for the inconvenience.

or

Sorry! Something has gone wrong and we're are trying hard to fix it. Why not spend this time getting some work done or talking to someone near you? [OK so that's very Why Don't You but you get the idea].

I'm probably just cross because I can't Facebook while eating my lunch.

If you can't either go read Iain's excellent analysis of why we marketing folk are so obsessed by it.