Facebook advertising

I know that Facebook is a commercial enterprise, they're in the business of making money. I don't pay anything for my use of their service -- the ads they present on their pages pay for my usage...

I like Facebook. I love the clean interface (though it's becoming more cluttered every day). MySpace allows users to customize their profile pages in almost every way imaginable and those customized pages are often hard on the eyes and on the computer (some pages cause my poor laptop to literally grind to a halt). Facebook, again, is cool and clean.

Mostly, though, I like Facebook because they seem to me to be "good guys". Yeah, they're making money, but they're perceived as being concerned about their users and doing the right thing. Kind of like Google, in my mind. "Don't be evil" and all that.

This evening, however, I was confronted with something that made me stop and think for a moment.

Click the above for a larger version -- you'll notice (even in this small picture) a large "Continue" button in "Facebook Blue". It looks like a genuine Facebook button... but it's not. It takes the user to the site of an advertiser.

I don't mind the ads, I've already said that. I don't like being tricked, however. I wish Facebook would limit these kinds of ads -- their presence seems duplicitous and not at all in line with my view of the "good Facebook".

 

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