Federal Councillor Calmy-Rey renounces Facebook

 
It helps personal networking, but harms the economy due to its addictive potential: the Facebook community platform. Werbewoche has already reported several times on various phenomena in connection with the leading global community network, where over 200,000 Swiss people are already registered. After a number of politicians abroad had already set up a self-managed profile page and thus made contact with parts of their electorate, Neuchâtel student Bertil Suter wanted to transfer the idea to the seven Swiss Federal Councillors. He set up profiles for all of them (see also ) and then hoped, with the help of public pressure, that the ministers would one day take over the profiles themselves. 
 
 
In all probability, however, this will now not happen. As the commuter newspaper 20 Minuten reported on Monday, the head of the FDFA, Micheline Calmy-Rey, has now had her profile blocked. The spokesperson for the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Philipp Jeannerat, said that contact had therefore been made with those responsible at Facebook last week. The virtual poking of a member of the Federal Council therefore remains a utopia for the time being.
 
 
 
On Monday, Facebook launched a German version of its social network offering. From now on, German-speaking countries can access the German website, which is nothing more than a translation of the original site, by selecting the homepage www.facebook.com. Facebook enlisted the help of its members: Over 2000 German-speaking users translated the pages in less than two weeks. If the translators disagreed, a vote was held. Although this method is inexpensive, it is not entirely convincing: the German page often looks sloppy due to the clumsy and incomplete translation, criticizes the German industry website Kress.de.
 
There will not be a German Facebook branch, business will be conducted from the company headquarters in Palo Alto, California.