Lunchtime again, still in a partially unpacked office. So here’s another collection I wrote up Tuesday night — this time, dealing with our favorite social website: Facebook.
- Name a State Without A Q. We’ve all seen them meme. Have you ever wondered why you see it? Andrew Ducker pointed me to an article that explains the scam. It’s called “like farming.” A Facebook page is created, with an appeal for readers to like, comment or share. The creators, who are working together to build these pages, share it among themselves. They all have big networks, so the pages instantly get into thousands of other people’s news feeds. When those people respond with a “like” or a share, then it reaches their friends. Suddenly, the thing has spread faster than a high school rumor. Then the people who started it, having quickly acquired tens of thousands of followers, sell the page. Now an advertiser has all those names and Facebook addresses. And that advertiser, who isn’t allowed to phone you and whose flyers go straight to your recycling box, is sending you commercial messages on Facebook. Remember: Think twice before you share or comment on that cute viral meme.
- Facebook Charging for Email. This is something I ran into the other day: If you try to message someone not on your friends list, Facebook wants you to pay $1 or more so the message isn’t treated as junk mail. How do you get around this? Friend the person (the goal of Facebook right), or accept the message as junk mail. This is how Facebook gets you to build your friends list.
- Facebook Lobbying. Mark Zuckerberg has been attempting to start a Facebook political advocacy group. However, a memo regarding the group was leaked. In the leaked memo, Joe Green, who’s heading the political effort, pledged that technology executives would use their companies to “control the avenues of distribution” and promote their political message. This has led Facebook to postpone the effort. The LA Times also has a nice article on Zuckerberg’s political “wingman”: Joe Green.
Music: A Party With Comden & Green (Betty Comden, Adolph Green): “One Hundred Easy Ways to Lose a Man (Intro)”
