Social networks seem to be going crazy these days. Twitter is closing the doors to third-party Twitter clients; Google has been shutting down services hoping user will move onto Google+; and now Facebook does something that may be just the tip of the iceberg of things to come: Facebook is about to become the fist age restricted social network.
Starting today, Facebook users over 25 years old will be unable to login into their accounts. Mark Zuckerberg says it's time for old people to ruin the experience for younger people; and that when a teenager uploads a sexy photo of her, it's not her intention to be poked around by "dirty old men". So, enough is enough, and according to the Facebook Founder, when people grow old, it's time for them to move out of Facebook, and to more mature social networks, like LinkedIn.
If you're thinking of trying to fool Facebook by simply entering a valid birthdate, don't bother. From now on, new Facebook users will need to be vouched for by three existing users. If FB finds out you're not really under 25 (like being reported by someone else), then you'll be kicked out as well as all of them! So, it's not hard to imagine no one will want to risk vouching for any "fakes".
Will this be the beginning of age restricted and age tiered social networks? We'll see how other networks react to this unexpected Facebook announcement... and if they'll follow with similar tactics.
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