I just read that Facebook is set to score one-fifth of the mobile ad market by 2017. That reminded me of an email I got from my father this morning. On my mother’s Facebook page, there is some kind of pop-up with my name, an image of a woman reclining and staring off into space, with the tantalizing line below: “Have you ever fantasized about your friend?”
Whaaaat?
More automated pop-ups generated, apparently, by a friend of mine’s son — who knows nothing about me — answering a Facebook “question” about me that I didn’t know was being posed.
When these types of things happen in database-driven print, they become fodder for bloopers articles or, in less amusing scenarios, getting fired by a client. You just don’t want to make these kinds of mistakes in print, but online, they are accepted as normal, everyday hazards of the road.
This is why I prefer personalization in print rather than online. It may not be as sophisticated sometimes, driven by all kinds of algorithms and space-age AI, but you know what? It doesn’t get me in trouble with my husband.
There is a reason that personalization in print works so well. There actually a brain behind it!
Well said, Heidi.
Facebook apps can be quite intrusive. There should be a brain behind it, and it’s even more important that there be a modicum of protection of people’s private information. Facebook does not care that their apps are often examples of ‘worst practices’.