A few weeks ago Facebook fouled up in a big way by misdirecting private messages to the wrong recipients, revealing a random and riveting slice of life to members who found their inboxes full of love notes for teenagers in other states (or countries), the jealous rants of spurned lovers, ho-hum planning for family events, menacing hate mail, updates on accidents and illness... the list goes on. The story was first reported by a Wall Street Journal reporter who happened to be one of the mixed-up recipients, and posted some excerpts from the misdirected missives. Today Gawker.com has posted a …

Coincidentally, on the subject of whimsy: just a few days after I wrote about the Facebook fan page for the Norwegian Men's Curling Team's pants, Facebook has ventured into censorship territory again -- this time with political overtones. The whimsical victim of political repression: a Facebook page called "Can this poodle wearing a tinfoil hat get more fans than Glenn Beck?" I told you it was whimsical.

Here's something I never gave much thought to, but should have: the Food and Drug Administration is looking at the role of social media in advertising over-the-counter pharmaceuticals, and is considering standards for a code of conduct for social media marketers. In response, the Word of Mouth Marketing Association has submitted its own suggestions for voluntary standards, which touches on a handful of interesting issues.