Some of you may have friended me on Facebook.

As of today, I have deactivated my account on Facebook.

I did it because I found the new Timeline user interface, forced without consent, or recourse, upon everyone to be a poorly written user interface whose imposition on people indicated a corporate culture with which I do not want to associate.

Several friends have suggested using patching programs to alter the timeline to something more acceptable. I think all of you who suggested this but it misses the point.

At the end of the day, our last recourse is to vote “with our feet.” When something is bad, there’s always the option to stop using it.

Facebook is going to make lots of money mining the data provided by its users (for more, read Anne McCaffrey’s “The Dull Drums” which pretty much predicts the way in which Facebook and others will be mining our data).

The smart move on their part would be to make their user interface completely transparent and encourage users to develop their own variants, culling the best and offering them to newcomers. This is not only empowering but a smart way to get good interfaces.

That Facebook did not even think of that but rather forced “their way” on everyone is indicative of a culture which doesn’t actually care about its users. Our information, freely given, is theirs to mine; our feedback, completely ignored, means nothing to them.

Fine. I voted with my feet. If enough people do the same, Facebook may become more responsive to its users and may survive. If not, their very arrogant nature will ultimately spell the downfall of the company.

I hope they learn but it’s telling that sending feedback to Facebook is only possible when quitting.