BY LAJU IREN

History was made on September 17, 2015 when Facebook went down for the first time ever. But whoever said lightning does not strike twice in the same place, is now being forced to eat his words. With two more down times in the same month, it would seem that lightning can strike not just twice, but thrice in the same place and within a very, very short period of time.

But as with everything in life, the #Facebookdown phenomenon is something to learn from. Not just for app developers and tech geeks, but for everyone who has anything to do with social networking. And that includes you…yes you.

Especially if you’re not an avid Facebooker, you might not be quick to agree with this fact. But bear in mind that if it could happen to facebook-a company renowned for its secure network-it can happen to any other platform. If that’s the case, it only makes sense that you back up your relevant data in more than one place. Note that relevant data is not limited to a final year project or a business contract. What about that business partner whose only contact you have is his/her facebook name? Remember those very important pictures you only have on instagram, and those friends with whom Blackberry Messenger is your only hope of communication? You must be getting the idea now.

But just in case you haven’t, think of your emails. Think of those important proposals you deleted from your laptop, but thought were backed up simply because you mailed them to yourself. What fate awaits them, if something happens to gmail or yahoo? Or worse, if someone hacks into your account and locks you out. The same goes for those pictures you’ve refused to download from whatsapp chats, and the wedding details for your friend’s upcoming wedding that you abandoned on GooglePlus. The morale? Don’t just leave important information online. Find the download button, and if there isn’t one, copy and paste.

It isn’t enough to be sure that you can access people and information even when one social media platform fails. You have to make sure that people can access you as well. Make sure that the website of your organisation or brand is always up and running. Ensure that you are visible on more than two social media platforms, so that is someone wants to contact you for something important, it would not matter that Facebook or any other network is down even for a minute.