Thursday 21 February 2013

False advertising promoted on Facebook

For those, like me, with too much time on their hands, or have been sick...or believe in time well-wasted, I've spent time hanging out with Friends on Facebook. Partly, I've noticed that Social Media has learned that we old farts are on FB and also tweet. For the most part, it is the young people who send out tweets. These folks, from my research, tend to be those who use it for...SOCIAL purposes. To hook up with friends, and not for any real purposes other than fun. Social Media has been stolen by marketing firms, however, and PR firms who bombard us with reasons to buy their products and advertise their services.

I'm looking at my Facebook account. I began to notice that many of my friends seemed to happen to 'like' sponsored ads. I've been collecting screen shots! I posted it to an album on Facebook, and my friends told me they have either not been playing a particular game for a year, or did not 'like' AmEx, as is posted!

 I have come to the conclusion that Facebook is producing false advertising. I know my friends aren't 'Liking' all of these pages. I understand stockholders need advertising revenue, this is what keeps Facebook free to me, but this seems criminal, indeed.
One friend wrote:
I have a facebook "friend" who died of cancer over a year ago. She is still "liking" things. Who knows what I am "liking". I read that fb is going to start with autorun videos sometime soon. That may be the cause of my departure from facebook. 
 
The article, partially quoted below, hit home for me. With strangers asking to 'friend' me. If you read the last paragraph, I find it ironic since I have noticed that Facebook presents fake 'likes', by advertisers. I've checked it out! My friends have NOT liked particular pages.

Facebook’s False Faces Undermine Its Credibility, By 
Fakery is all over the Internet. Twitter, which allows pseudonyms, is rife with fake followers, and has been used to spread false rumors, as it was during Hurricane Sandy  False reviews are a constant problem on consumer Web sites. Facebook has sought to distinguish itself as a place for real identity on the Web.
As the company tells its users: “Facebook is a community where people use their real identities.” Fraudulent “likes” damage the trust of advertisers, who want clicks from real people they can sell to and whom Facebook now relies on to make money. Fakery also can ruin the credibility of search results for the social search engine that Facebook says it is building.

4 comments:

Kay said...

I've been noticing things like that and wondered about it. I've been "hiding" a lot of that annoyance from the newsfeed. I don't do Facebook much and mostly just with family.

Phil Slade said...

An interesting and thought provoking post Jenn. Perhaps we should all use FB to a minimum (or not at all) until they get the message?

Red said...

I have noticed these recommendations but didn't pay any attention to them. On twitter you can connect to groups and miss the social bit. CNpoli is for politics junkies.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

I use FB a little to keep up with family but I've noticed this fake stuff.. started hiding a lot of my likes and even some FB 'friends' (for different reasons) from the daily feed; makes life less stressful. It's scary to think advertisers could corrupt users names.