

Billboards Are Like Facebook - 10char
http://clayallsopp.com/posts/billboards-are-like-facebook/

======
paulgb
The worst part is that the person pictured next to the Revolights ad _almost
certainly_ does not know that they're being used next to the ad.

Here's an experiment guaranteed to make the front page of HN if you can write
it up well: take screenshots of all the newsfeed ads you see and send them to
the person pictured asking them if they were aware their image was being used
that way.

~~~
thejosh
This really sucks for people who like hundreds of random things. It use to be
that people would like EVERYTHING... now that's coming back to bite everyone
in the ass.

------
hcarvalhoalves
> Facebook's mission is to give people the power to share and make the world
> more open and connected.

If this is their mission statement they are failing miserably.

They would be succeeding if their mission stated "keeping in touch with
friends" or "share cool stuff with friends", which for me is already great.

Of course, when you have a mission statement made by a board, you end with
lots of grandiose BS and buzzwords like "open" and "connected".

~~~
spectrum
Trying to make the world more open but keeping all the information in a walled
garden.

~~~
csallen
I don't think this is necessarily hypocritical. They never claimed they wanted
to be "as open as possible in every conceivable way", they just said "open".
For obvious reasons, sharing all of their data would be risky, if not
suicidal.

~~~
Kristine
It is hypocritical when you can't view posts marked 'Everyone' (public) unless
you log in.

~~~
klausa
That's not the case. I just copied url to post I made to 'everyone (public)',
set my browser into private mode, went to that url and I could my post just
fine.

~~~
Kristine
Thanks for clarifying. It's been a while since I clicked on a Facebook link.
When I tried it just now, you are right that direct post URLs will work. But
when browsing a public page or profile, there are pop-us that obscure the rest
of the screen as you scroll or hover over links.

------
hapkins
Please learn to distinguish between metaphors and similies.

"* are like Facebook" is clearly a similie.

------
wmougayar
Let's hope that Facebook is experimenting with this, such that the end-result
is not 80% ads. Facebook pages are starting to get noisy. I'm trying
<http://www.pinvolve.co/> and it removes all ads from your FB pages.

------
namank
It's word of mouth morphed into shove down your throat.

But I actually find it very helpful. Now anytime my friends likes a page, the
pages most recent post (or something) gets displayed in my newsfeed.

I've used this to my own benefit multiple times.

------
robotico
That's a big reason that I don't use it anymore! That and the interface
changing constantly and security issues!

Admittedly, I do have a fake account for my website that's updated
automatically if anyone actually cares.

------
kaiyi
You can always install AdBlock, which blocks all ads.

~~~
lucian303
Yes! It's amazing to me that ads still generate any revenue this day and age
(last decade or so) AdBlock or not.

~~~
nivla
Not sure if that comment is meant to sarcastic or not but ads are main driving
force behind the freemium model of the web. Whether it be Google, Youtube,
Facebook or even Reddit and HN, you won't get to access them for free unless
there exists a potential for advertisements. Like most others I hate to be at
the receiving end of these advertisements, but that changes when it comes to
promoting a startup, especially when it is known to be the best medium.

~~~
lucian303
It's not. I've only clicked on ads once or twice in my life and that's mainly
for lack of relevance.

------
lucian303
I never stayed up all night chatting to a chair and sending it links. I'll
give it a shot tonight. Also, when you make a chair bigger, it usually becomes
a couch or a love-seat in the same way that when you make thefacebook.com
bigger, it becomes a disgusting mess of ads and garbage applications all
designed to get more data about you in the hope they can sell you something.

Seriously, the only people FB is fooling are the fools who use it. While those
people exist (and they always have throughout history), FB or some sort of FB
(social network) will exist. The problem is, like the author, people know that
they don't want to be part of FB and yet they still are. Yes, it's an
addiction, but it's an addiction that can be defeated. And you don't even have
to do 12 steps. It's just one step and two weeks of waiting to delete your
account.

The excuses form people who claim to hate FB but still use it are getting
quite old by now. If you really want to make a point, cancel your FB account
and then write this. It'll resonate a lot more.

~~~
abduhl
This vitriolic hate for facebook from certain parts of the tech crowd has
always confused me. Where does this come from and, further, why is it extended
to users? Why must facebook users be considered "fools"?

~~~
001sky
_Why must facebook users be considered "fools"?_

Because zuck once said that about anyone who trusts him?[1]

________________

[1] _Zuckerberg's IM: People Who Trust Him Are "Dumb F_ *ks"

[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/janet-tavakoli/facebooks-
plumm...](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/janet-tavakoli/facebooks-plummeting-
stoc_b_1969020.html)

    
    
        Zuck: Yeah so if you ever need info about anyone at Harvard
    
        Zuck: Just ask.
    
        Zuck: I have over 4,000 emails, pictures, addresses, SNS
    
        [Redacted Friend's Name]: What? How'd you manage that one?
    
        Zuck: People just submitted it.
    
        Zuck: I don't know why.
    
        Zuck: They "trust me"
    
        Zuck: Dumb fucks.

~~~
bpatrianakos
I'm responsible for making sure 10 or so websites are professional and are
ready to represent the brands of a $100+ million dollar company. It's a big
responsibility. I once said I couldn't believe those idiots would trust _me_
with that task. Does that mean I think my employer and my bosses are idiots?
No. It's just a way of expressing humility and coping with the fact that a
task comes with a high amount of trust and responsibility.

In my case and in Zuckerberg's the comment was made in private and never meant
to be heard by the public. I think using this quote against him is a cheap
shot and a total copout to avoid answering the parent's question in any real
way. If everyone's private comments were held against them then every person
on earth would be vilified. I'm no fan of Facebook but I am a realist and when
you try to use that quote against him you come off as blindly anti-
Zuck/Facebook.

So to rephrase the question, why do _you_ think Facebook users are fools? And
if the answer is "because mark said so" then I'm sure I can find Zuckerberg
being extra complimentary of Facebook users and then I'd ask "so which quote
do we go with? The one that suits your belief or would you prefer to come up
with your own reason?"

~~~
rhizome
If there's humility in calling your bosses idiots, is it in the form of
sarcasm? I understand the "wow, I'm in this position" thing, but there's a
disconnect.

