Just saw the Fan Check virus scare posted by a Facebook friend:
Like many virus scares, Fan Check appears to be a hoax. But this is the first such post I’ve seen on Facebook and it strikes me as an important milestone. Viruses, virus scares, identity theft and even those annoying chain letter people are moving from the world of email into the world of social networking.
Facebook identity theft threats are particularly worrisome. In some cases, imposters have taken control of people’s identities on Facebook. In others, thieves have used Facebook to get at security details and passwords.
But the bigger implication from all this is that the scammers have recognized that social networking is where the money is. Look for advertisers to figure this out, too.
Google is the leader in Internet advertising because it is currently the king of discovery. Google search allows people to find nearly anything fairly quickly. But search is only one form of discovery. Amazon.com and other sites use referrals and recommendations to aid in discovery, but this is built on automation and algorithms: People with similar likes and dislikes are analyzed to help identify things you may find interesting. Facebook is positioned to revolutionize this approach, turbo-charging word of mouth as recommendations come from trusted friends. The question is how to harness this massive network of friends without breaking down the level of trust?
If advertisers are half as creative as the crooks and thieves, then things should get interesting.
Michael A M Davies
Brad W Hagedorn
Moe Kelley
Amy Bullard Davies
