So, this happened the other day. Obviously, the last poster is me.
Apparently she didn’t, considering she de-friended me.
The Three People You meet on Facebook
You ever log into Facebook and notice a Friend Request that you know you’ve accepted before? According to Facebook 4.8 percent of all active accounts are duplicate, non-human, or spam. This comes as no real news to me. In my list of friends now numbering in the thousands, I have always noticed spam friends, duplicate accounts, and friend(ing) friends pets and/or businesses.
The Spam friends should be the easiest to spot. They will find you on Facebook and claim to have went to High School or College with you, sometimes leaving you obnoxious, creepy messages about how they wish they got to know you. If you make the mistake of adding them to your online community, you will soon forget they even exist. From my experience, they don’t post often, but when they do it is usually about something intimate. Usually how they “wish someone would talk to them” it makes me miss Myspace. Also spam (the usually spammer being some sexual entity) Will always have a rather generic photo of themselves, especially if its a female.
The duplicate friend is usually very unhappy with his/her life or may have a hacker problem. Most times its unhappiness. The weirdest part about the duplicate friend is noticing that they have more than one active account. Some may not hide this fact, and post statuses and stuff from multiple accounts, but sometimes they are unaware of their multiple accounts. Unlike the Spammer, they won’t message you upon requesting addition friendship. Sometimes they’ll say “I had to make a new account because my mother added me on my last one” and I suppose I can understand that.
The Non-Human, Business, Pet friend is kind, hard working and gentle. Usually they are small business owners, local artist, and animal enthusiast. However, these people do not know how to create pages for their beloved pets and business ventures. So, instead they make accounts like humans and insist on friending people whom they know. These accounts are not really a problem, and actually gives you good insights to who a person really is and wants to be (hopefully, not employed by Facebook).
According to a new study of Facebook, many speculators are saying that these 3 categories are confusing the numbers on Facebook so bad that the Facebook stock is down. It may be that or people getting tired of Facebook.
One must admit that Facebook is rather dull, and useless you having a baby. It seems the trend among my friends is marriage and babies, and I suppose that is normal…
Yahoo Sues Facebook Over Patent
Photo by Sebastian Bergmann
In a lawsuit filed today in San Jose, California, Yahoo is claiming Facebook violated ten of its advertising-system patents. msnbc.com reports:
Yahoo sued Facebook on Monday over 10 patents that include methods and systems for advertising on the Web, according to a copy of the lawsuit.
The lawsuit, filed in a San Jose, Calif., federal court, marks the first major legal battle among technology giants in social media and a major escalation of patent litigation that has already swept up the smartphone and tablet sectors and high-tech stalwarts such as Apple, Microsoft and Motorola.
Pretty big deal considering Facebook’s upcoming IPO.
Grand Theft Auto V Facebook Ad Scam Still Running
A few days back, I posted this article about a Facebook Advertisement for a free copy of GTA V.
Beware, this is ad is a scam, and it is still running on Facebook.
I saw it again just a moment ago. I was surprised because I figured by the time I posted my original article about it, Facebook would have taken it down. Well, they didn’t. In fact, upon further inspection, I found the website was updated.
It’s being run from http://www.gamergiveaway.net. The exact link it took me to a few days back was http://gamergiveaway.net/l/gtav-giveaway/2/, today it linked me to http://gamergiveaway.net/l/gtav-giveaway/.
I just wanted to point this so hopefully people who Google the website will find this before giving their information to it. Just to make myself entirely clear about how I know this website Facebook is advertising is a scam, allow me to lay out my logic.
First of all, Grand Theft Auto V is not out yet. That means only the publisher, Rockstar Games, would be able to give out beta copies. A quick whois search will reveal it’s not likely set up by anyone from Rockstar. However, that’s no longer necessary as this updated version of the scam features the following statements:
We are looking for enthusiastic GTA players to be the first to test out the brand new GTA V. Just complete our short 30-second survey and enter your contact information so we know where to send your copy of GTA V. Your survey information helps us determine how to improve the gaming experience.
Okay, so the implication given by the website is that it’s set up by Rockstar. Oh, except for the disclaimer the scammer decided to put up since my last visit.
This site is NOT created or associated with Rockstar games or Facebook in any way. This site runs promotional offers not related to anything offered by Rockstar Games.
So the scam reveals itself all on the same page. I wonder if anyone has been either stupid or wishful enough to fall for it.
Are Facebook Ads Really This Easy for Scammers to Abuse?
A moment ago, whilst engaged in my usual Facebook creeping routine, my eyes were drawn to one of the advertisements; as often is the case. I have long since accepted that Facebook is more aware of my interests than me. Being a dirt poor college student, however, I never actually click them. This ad was special though. It was advertising something free.
Spoiler alert: it was a scam.
Before you judge me as an inept webizen of these United Internets, I’ll have you know this petty scam did not get the better of me. Though, it came closer than any which preceded it.
Here’s why. Upon reading the ad’s entirety, the thought that it might be a scam hadn’t crossed my mind. Facebook, with it’s sleek, simple-but-dynamic charm instilled me with a false sense of security. Surely, a website with which I have such history wouldn’t usher me toward anything malicious. Especially not with all my friends around.
Oh, and also because what it was advertising put me in an excited unthinking frenzy. The potential to obtain a pre-release copy of Grand Theft Auto V. Gimme a minute, I gotta watch that trailer again.
Yeah, it’s gonna be the tits.
So you can imagine the extent of my enthusiasm when I spotted this deceptive little bastard of a GTA V Facebook Ad.
If I’m not mistaken, it seems this Facebook advertisement purports to be created by Rockstar Games with the intent to find beta testers for their new awesome video game. Once the webpage it linked to opened, the implication was the same, despite a less convincing presentation than the ad. Blinded by desire, it wasn’t until I read its directions that I could no longer suppress the stinging realization that I wouldn’t be beta-testing Grand Theft Auto V for Rockstar.
Other than the words “Congratulations Visitor from Facebook” it scrawled upon my browser’s header, obviously written by either a foreigner or a robot, there seemed to be a certain urgency to its words. As though it wanted me to dart through the process in a careless haste. As though it sensed my yearning to do so.
Upon doing a Google search of the webpage, http://gamergiveaway.net/l/gtav-giveaway/2/, my suspicions were confirmed.
Here’s the actual page it took me to. I’m probably almost certain it’s safe to visit.
Since it likely won’t be up long, here’s a screenshot too.
As you’ve observed, this clearly wasn’t set up by GTA’s publisher. The absence of Rockstar logos, the tacky green text against black background, and the presence of what has to be the sorriest attempt at a faux ‘verified site’ icon that could possibly have been produced are all indicators that some Russian teenager threw it together in a hurry between being cold, and, well… being cold. What else do you think there is to do in Russia? Be cold and scam Americans. That’s it. Oh, and pretend Anna Chapman is attractive.
Ohh, but I kid the Russians.
I must say, I’m quite proud I was able to resist what was a tenacious urge to give every bit of my info to this insalubrious website. Way to go me.
This near-catastrophe left me with a question regarding Facebook’s ad policy. Namely, whether or not they have one.
They do. The next inquiry I faced was how effectively they enforce the ad policy. Since I never click the ads, it’s never been an issue. This being a harder question to answer, I was brought to write this in hopes that my fellow bloggers could share any experiences they’ve had with Facebook ad scams. I wanna find out just how big an issue this is over there.
Update: Grand Theft Auto V Facebook Ad Scam Still Running
What Would we do without Twitter?
Okay, I’m a pretty hip youngster if I do say so myself. I rock fly-ass high top Reeboks on the reg, and otherwise remain well-versed in the fads of my generation. However, there’s one thing I just don’t get.
What the hell is Twitter?
Seriously, can anyone tell me?
Like, really tell me. I mean in terms that I can understand; I get that it’s a social networking website.
But why? Why is it there? Why is it in existence?
Because as far as I can tell, the fact that the concept around it wasn’t given up on by the person who conceived of it before they were done creating it, and the fact that once they did it actually took off, is rather suspect.
I mean I get how like politicians and news reporters and anchors use it. But come on, let’s get real, people. That’s the only real practical use for it, and we all know that they could literally use Facebook for the same exact fucking thing. But that’s not even the worst part.
The worst part is that… THEY DO! Everything anyone worth listening to puts up on Twitter, they also post as a status on Facebook! But they still ask people watching their shows to “tweet” them.
As though they’re trying to open up another avenue for people other than Facebook users to contact them by using Twitter as well. Because we all know that Twitter users never also have a Facebook. It’s not like Twitter and Facebook appeal to the exact same demographic of people.
I say thank God these news anchors use Twitter. Otherwise how would all the tween girls throughout America whose parents blocked their Facebook account (after some not-so-flattering pictures came out) contact Piers Morgan regarding his “thought provoking” interviews with people whose only fans are tweens?
And for that, I say God bless Twitter.
Ex-Girlfriend Conundrum
I’ll try to explain all this quickly.
So I have one of those ex-girlfriends who has played the role of ex-girlfriend in my life far longer than girlfriend. We dated for like maybe a two month period at some point like four years ago. But we never stopped hanging out or having sex. And now we’re at the point where she goes to college like 12 hours away so we both know we want to be together, we just can’t be right now. So whatever.
But as of lately I’ve been talking to someone new at my college. It’s getting to the point where it’s only a matter of time before she wants to update her relationship status on Facebook a.k.a. be “Facebook official”.
I can’t just say no because that’s sketchy and she’d probably think it’s weird, like if I specifically say I don’t wanna put our relationship status on Facebook, she would know I had to have a reason. But if I just put it on Facebook, my ex will definitely see it.
So I present to you the thinking process that led me to the solution of this conundrum. The names have been changed.
Uh oh, my impending “Facebook official” obligation is gonna piss off Lucy * Maybe I should just call her and tell her about it before I put it up * Ugh, that’s gonna be a fucking shitty conversation * Well it’d be better than just letting her see it on Facebook, she might comment on it with some bitchy remark – that would be just like her * What am I gonna say when I ha… * (Shining light bulb over head) * Oh, yeah! I could always just tweak Facebook’s privacy features so that she, and her sister and all her friends, specifically can’t see my relationship status! * Problem solved – Way to go, Me!
I figured going through each of my 700 some friends on Facebook and finding the ones I need to hide it from would take less time than that fucking phone call.
Hooray for the easy way out!
