Is Facebook gonna get You?

The Facebook Slap - Is it on it's way?

I'm going out on a limb here, but I can imagine that many Facebook users ( thats 500 Million+) are probably getting 'friend' requests from internet marketers like you and I.

In the rush to add friends it's oh so easy to accept the request and continue on your Facebook marketing offensive. I choose my words carefully here folks because that's what this type of marketing is....offensive.

Yesterday I received a friend request from a Facebook user who obviously had not even bothered to read my profile, or my recent post entitled Why I'm Closing Down My Facebook Profile. I followed the user's link and read right there on her ( and thats as much as Ill tell you about her) personal wall the following message in response to a post from a personal friend:-

Hi (xxxx) yes I have two Facebook accounts this one is my 'WORK PROFILE!"

After examining the wall in a little more detail practically every entry was the addition of exactly ten friends twice a day like clockwork! Sound familiar? A few responses sprinkled amongst the entries gave a small modicum of legitimacy to this user account however as a marketer, it's so obvious this account has been set up for the sole purpose of marketing activities.

Under the user's profile picture were no less than 5 links all pointing to her employers pages... Shameless! Now I'm no Mark Zuckerburg however I'm pretty sure that someone in the Facebook team has an eye on this activity.

I'm also pretty sure that anybody who actually has thousands of friends on their profile will probably have a very large flashing red arrow next to their profile shouting "I am a marketer!!!"

Lets be honest who actually has 5000 real Facebook friends?

The Google/ Facebook Slap - History Repeats Itself Right?

When Google was in its infancy It was more than willing to take the money. Marketers in the internet marketing community were spending millions of dallars using the Google Adwords platform and only after Google got fat, gorging itself on this 'new' emerging industry did they get all pernickerty and decide that 'they' were no longer welcome to use it's platform and in a single stroke they banned hundreds, possibly thousands of accounts from it's system.

Overnight many internet marketers business's were left washed up, the Google traffic tap was turned off. permanently!.

The better marketers turned to other sources, and developed 'systems' designed to steal traffic from other sources. In fact a number of new products flooded the market shortly after the 'Slap' offering 'solutions' so that other marketers would never fall into the same trap again.

Now we know ( or should know ) that having a single source of high quality traffic is a dangerous game!

Google is still the single biggest,best, most targeted traffic source on the planet despite all the Facebook hype currently doing the rounds. If you have a high quality product and you wish to use Google then they will let you, just don't abuse it. Don't attempt to fool them, dont attempt to take advantage of Googles's inventory ( that's it's most prized asset, You The User!).

Back to The Facebook Slap ( Following the herd!)

When Facebook introduced fan pages, marketers deliberated on the new format, in one way having a 'fan' page made sense. Unlike ( no pun intended) personal profiles you had no 5000 limit, you could and still can have millions of 'fans'. On the other hand the term 'fan' did not sit well in the psychology of the marketer as having 'fans' implies a unbalanced relationship betwixt fan and owner of the page.

It's still early days for Facebook and right now Mark and his team are more than willing to take your marketing dollars and turn a blind eye to the obvious abuse of it's system....however.....

Exactly like Google, sooner or later, the time will arrive where Facebook no longer needs or wants it's inventory abused ( that's who it cares about the most, it's users) . In an awesome move Facebook has given every legitimate business the opportunity to create a business page, and introducing the button was a master-stroke. Genius!

If, as a Facebook user, I like your page, your video, your content, I will let you know. I can simply press the like button, raise my hand and tell you hey! I like your page, in fact you can now send me updates on this topic.

Doesn't this make sense?

Facebook Slap The Reality!

If ( I would say when ) Facebook turns it's attention to internet marketers, I will be ready, will you? In fact having your 'real' friends and colleagues messages populating your time line, instead of a steady stream of pitches and 'personal development' quotes is fantastic. That was the whole idea of Facebook in the first place. It's liberating and truly gives back the whole ' Facebook experience'. i recommend it!

Waking up to a deleted profile WILL be a reality, to think it wont happen is a mistake, it's only a matter of time! If your investing your energy building a credible online business, consider the consequences of losing your profile, and know it only takes the push of a button to delete EVERYTHING permanently.

Facebook will not be interested in your pleas, emails and phone calls. The opportunity to create a page exists and they have given us all plenty of time to do the right thing.......

On a Positive Note

I am so excited to see the amount of new entrepreneurs joining the ranks of internet marketers, the combination of technology and global appeal is intoxicating. To see young, successful businessmen and women, sharing and working together is magical, network marketers, direct sales, info product marketers, all coming together for mutual benefit, and all with great spirit. Awesome!

New emerging communication tools and services are breaking new boundaries, however we both know as great as these tools are, they only amplify the inner spirit!

Knowledge, Passion, Enthusiasm Energy and Excitement cannot be faked for long ( if at all ) and here I implore you to spend your time...

Work With Passion