Social Networks
Facebook Ads Will Spam Your Friends
Hugh MacLeod pretty much sums up how I feel about Facebook’s new “social ad platform“. I have no intention of giving out free product endorsements unless I actually feel like it. Facebook merely railroading my personal choice is not worth fifteen billion dollars. If I really, really want to bet my reputation on a product by telling you to buy it, I’ll take the time to blog it.
If Mark Zuckerberg thinks people will somehow feel “cooler” by spamming their friends, he’s deluded. When product recommendation engines work using aggregate data, they’re helpful. When product recommendations come as unauthorized personal endorsements, they’re exploitative.
OpenSocial in Five Minutes
If you don’t have time to watch Google’s one-hour introduction to OpenSocial, here’s the five-minute version.
Facebook’s main draw was its API. OpenSocial is an API for all social networks. Microsoft just spent $240 million for nothing. 😛
