How to Lose Friends and Influence, People
So I open my email this morning to discover that I now have one less friend than I did yesterday. On Facebook. Turns out my friend Jordan saw yesterday's NYT article about Facebook's new advertising strategy; that they plan to sell "ads that display people’s profile photos next to commercial messages that are shown to their friends about items they purchased or registered an opinion about," and she packed up and got outta Dodge. [In case you're wondering what happens when someone de-activates their Facebook account, it's like they never existed. Photos, profile, everything, down to the two sweet wall posts she left on my profile. Sad.] Here's what she had to say:
Hi All - I just deactivated my Facebook account. I've totally enjoyed our silliness with it and all, and it was a good experiment to see what it's all about (as much as anyone in their 30s can actually understand that!), but I am too cynical to think it's not just a way to use our information for other purposes. Here's an article from today's NYT that prompted me to go ahead and cancel. Sorry! xo, Jordan
So, much as I cherish the thought of discovering daily that my friends are partial to, say, Kiss My Face bodywash, Dr. Scholl's arch supports and The Drive By Truckers, I'm a little horrified. I'm still on Facebook, still happy to be zombified, given flowers and beer, have sheep thrown at me, whatever. But to become a spokesmodel? Share THAT level of detail? And, eeew, KNOW that level of detail about everyone?
So I ask you: has the advertising model now moved into the "yuck" zone? Will I be getting more of these breakup emails from friends, or is it more a generational thing? And what about all the cool and wonderful sites out there that are being built on the hope that advertisers will pay the bills one day? I know what the pundits think. What I really want to know is what you think. And in the meantime, I guess I'll just have to go out there and make a few more friends.
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I bailed last week, though I don't think we were ever facebuddies: http://mike.teczno.com/notes/facebook-deactivation.html
The account "deactivation" (not deletion!) process was a tit-for-tat slog through FB's pleading with me to stay. I certainly think that some portion of their users will defect on this news. The real flood won't take place until some new social site pops up to grab FB's crown, and even then you probably won't see much in the way of account deactivation, more like a slowing trickle of updates and activity.
Posted by: Michal Migurski | November 07, 2007 at 03:01 PM
I haven't recieved any notifications that I didn't anticipate, by signing up for a group. Nor have I seen a single pop up asking me to endorse something. I know that this conversational marketing strategy was suppose to have begun already, so what's the deal? Is anyone seeing it?
Posted by: Ryan Sommer | November 20, 2007 at 02:35 PM
I think many folks already want to be gone, but haven't had the excuse to go through it until now.
It's the jump the shark moment for Facebook: http://nowisgone.com/2007/11/20/faceful-of-fury/
Posted by: Ike | November 21, 2007 at 02:31 PM