The Online Reflector

By Nicki Crisci

Opinion Editor

Remember the days before TiVo when there was no choice but to sit through mindless commercials pitching the latest technological advances? No? What about before pop-up blocker software came out and ads had to be incessantly clicked off the computer until your hand went numb? Well, you are about to be annoyed yet again, but this time it’s closer to home for college students—introducing Facebook ads on a computer near you.

While Facebook already displays ads on the sidebars of pages, it has never been intrusive. But in a recent move, Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg has decided to favor advertisers over consumers and allow companies such as Coca Cola, Blockbuster and others to put ads on the pages in an obnoxious way.

In an article in the Nov. 7 issue of The New York Times, Zuckerberg, in response to the comment that people might not like the advertisements, said, “I mean, it’s an ad-supported business.”

After earlier rejecting the offer to sell Facebook to larger companies back in the spring of 2006, to keep it a peer-to-peer network, Zuckerberg finally decided to sell out after all. Thanks a lot, Mark.

This new advertising system that Facebook will implement is fairly simple to understand. For those who use Facebook, you know how you receive a message when a friend updates information or when he or she sends out a bulletin? Well, the new advertising will work in the same way.

For example, your friend purchases an item on Amazon.com. Now that person can click on the option to display what he or she bought onto Facebook. Amazon.com then intrusively puts a link in the news feed section of Facebook to notify every friend of the purchase and to add in a link to go to Amazon.com. A mass e-mail is then sent out to everyone on the friend list advertising that Amazon.com should be used because it was recommended by you—your picture attached to the ad and all. Smile!

Say hello to becoming a billboard advertisement for companies, and without any payment either.

Some may argue that all you have to do is not click the option. However, there are Facebook users out there who write about certain products and brands in their interest sections. Now some advertising messages will be accompanying that information for you to see.

Say for instance in your profile you write that you love Coca Cola. Friends will be notified of your choice and view that on your profile accompanied by Coke’s ad and a link to its website. There is no way to not see the advertisement.

While others may value their friend’s suggestion to buy from a certain company, it is another thing to shove it in your face in such a way. Facebook is using relationships to sell products through this advertising strategy.

While this doesn’t break any privacy issues, because we elect to provide the information, it is still interfering in the interaction with friends on the site.

We decide what information people can see, down to our likes, music, choices and our relationship status. By giving out this information, it’s not private anymore. The big problem with this, however, is that the information is for friends to know, not companies.

It’s pretty low when companies sink to the level of using relationships as a means to sell products. It would be like having solicitors at the door selling appliances because your friend bought a toaster at Sears
If Facebook knows all of this personal information, how far will they run with it? Advertisers can begin targeting Facebook users based on the simple information of whether the user is male or female.

Big Brother is watching, and he wants you to rent Blockbuster movies, drink Coca Cola and shop at Amazon.com.

Maybe some company will come out with a spam blocker for Facebook. Then again, even that software would have to be advertised somewhere.

Our society is a never-ending cycle of ads, and students are stuck in the middle of this relentless capitalism merry-go-round.

Stop the ride. I’m ready to get off.