Facebook’s Equivalent of “Reply All” – Stop It, Please

Facebook and its advertisers are betting on that. This is Amway style recruitment.

I like being on Facebook. Granted, not all of my friends are people I actually know (the new benchmark is people who would come to my funeral), but it’s nice to see what interests people who are interested in me.

I like reading what my friends write. Some of you are very witty. Some folks I know well show different personalities in the printed word than they do in the spoken word. That was a big surprise.

Maybe you like what I write? That’s why I promote my blog postings on my Facebook wall.

facebook-walmart.jpgWhat I don’t like are the “reply all” type messages I get when your gerbil has kittens in the aquarium. or you enter some sweepstakes.

I wonder if people realize EVERYONE on their friend list is getting this? You know the box you check before you join or enter a contest? It’s asking for access to your list of friends.

Originally I foolishly thought these were individually sent announcements. I didn’t want to seem antisocial to my Facebook pals. Facebook and its advertisers are betting on that. This is Amway style recruitment.

Nowadays I hit “Hide” all the time, but it’s a whack-a-mole game.

$100 Walmart Card Giveaway has been hidden from your News Feed. In the future, you won’t see posts from $100 Walmart Card Giveaway,

facebook-target.jpgFine, but there are other announcements for giveaways which are functionally the same, but different enough to get by. And get by they do!

No more than five minutes after I blocked Walmart, in comes one for Target!

There’s a method to this madness. These ads, and though Facebook would like me to believe they’re coming from you they are ads, are what pays the freight. There are more of them all the time!

On TV we try and separate content from advertising. On Facebook the line is blurry and getting blurrier.

I read an article a few days ago about the downfall of MySpace. Advertising clutter was mentioned as a main culprit.

Facebook, are you listening? I’m nearing the point where I’ll just have to hide me.

One thought on “Facebook’s Equivalent of “Reply All” – Stop It, Please”

  1. You’ve put your finger on the exact reason I don’t bother with Facebook, MySpace, oar any of the other “social media sites”

    The pointless advertising gets too strident to ignore easily, and appears to be coming from folks that would knew better if they really know you.

    It’s the endless battle between supporting a site, and making money.

    Personally, I usually opt out of getting anywhere near this madness. I get enough junk mail as it is…

Leave a Reply to KE4GNK Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *