Web 2.0 suicide

I guess it had to come to this. Too many people have gone overboard with virtual reality.

My friend Ryan Healy sent me a heads up about the Web 2.0 Suicide Machine: "Meet your real neighbors again. Sign out forever!"

Tired of your Social Network?

Liberate your newbie friends with a Web2.0 suicide! This machine lets you delete all your energy sucking social-networking profiles, kill your fake virtual friends, and completely do away with your Web2.0 alter-ego. The machine is just a metaphor for the website . . . where the Web2.0 suicide scripts are maintained. Our service currently runs with Facebook, Myspace, Twitter and LinkedIn! Commit NOW!

Feel free like a real bird again and unTwitter yourself.

The FAQs for the site are interesting:

What exactly is happening or how does the suicide machine delete my account in detail?

. . . Please note, that we are not deleting your account! Our aim is rather to remove your private content and friend relationships . . .! Our current achievements are so far:

Facebook

# logging into your account
# changing your password and your profile picture
# excluding your account from public search
# removing all email notifications
# removing all your friends
# removing all groups you were member of
# removing all your wall posts (beta)
# joining the group "Social Network Suiciders"
# logging out

Myspace

# logging into your account
# removing all your friends
# leaving a status message that you've comitted suicide
# logging out

LinkedIn

# logging into your account
# changing your password and your profile picture
# removing all your business connections
# logging out

Twitter

# logging into your account
# changing your password and your profile picture
# removing all people you follow
# removing all your followers
# removing all your tweets
# logging out

Why don't you just delete the account?

Please read the following question and answer!

Why do we think the web2.0 suicide machine is not unethical?

Everyone should have the right to disconnect. Seamless connectivity and rich social experience offered by web2.0 companies are the very antithesis of human freedom. Users are entrapped in a high resolution panoptic prison without walls, accessible from anywhere in the world. We do have an healthy amount of paranoia to think that everyone should have the right to quit her 2.0-ified life by the help of automatized machines. Facebook and Co. are going to hold all your information and pictures on their servers forever! We still hope that by removing your contact details and friend connections one-by-one, your data is being cached out from their backup servers. This can happen after days, weeks, months or even years. So merely deactivating the account is just not enough!

If I kill my online friends, does it mean they're also dead in real life?

No!

What do I need to commit suicide with the Web 2.0 Suicide Machine?

A standard web browser with Adobe Flash plugin and Javascript enabled. So, it runs on Windows, Linux and Mac with most of browsers available.

If I start killing my 2.0-self, can I stop the process?

No!

If I start killing my 2.0-self, can YOU stop the process?

No!

What shall I do after I've killed myself with the web2.0 suicide machine?

Try calling some friends, take a walk in a park or buy a bottle of wine and start enjoying your real life again. Some Social Suiciders reported that their lives have improved by an approximate average of 25%. Don't worry if you feel empty right after you committed suicide. This is a normal reaction which will slowly fade away within the first 24-72 hours.

Will the 2.0 suicide machine be available for other networks such as Flickr, Orkut and Plaxo?

We are currently working on improving our products! Currently we are working on Flickr and Hyves, but of course we are eagerly thinking of ways to get rid of our "Google Lifes." . . .

How much does it cost to kill myself?

Usage of Web 2.0 Suicide machine is for free at the moment. If you want to donate money for hosting, don't hesitate to get in contact with us!

I'm not ready to do that. I still feel in control. But if you're finding yourself completely consumed by the virtual world so that you are missing the real world, maybe you should seriously consider letting your online persona check out.

Before taking that step, however, consider the implications. Time magazine featured a relatively thoughtful article on the subject last January.