If you search the terms “top social media networks” your likely to get lots of lists of the top 10 social networks, and Facebook is almost always going to be in the first five. Even so, Facebook is not without its list of detractors and dissatisfied customers waiting for Facebook to “get it right”. They change things around on a pretty regular basis, even a Dec. 6, 2010 ABC News video is touts “Facebook Facelift: Rolling Out Another Makeover”. Online tech sites like ZDNet have guides on locking down your Facebook account!

So why can’t Facebook “get it right”, why do they change so often? Several factors weigh in, and just a few of those are advertising income, new features from Facebook user feedback, keeping ahead of the competition, and privacy policy advocates. With all of these conflicting forces, Facebook changes aren’t so simple. Imagine the task of meeting the demands of privacy policy advocates, keeping ahead of the competition, and at the same keeping revenues up!

When you signed up for Facebook did you expect you’d need to keep up with with important privacy policy changes and get to know where Facebook “hid” your favorite stuff? I sure didn’t … when I joined years ago I figured it was a simple enough way to easily share with about 10 friends the most recent “status updates” of my life.

MINOR ANNOYANCES

Some changes are good, but others are annoyances. Favorite Facebook apps disappear, those music videos you saved in your sidebar went away and the login system changes.

Where my ______ app?

Where are my music videos?

Where did the login area go?

Why did my _________ disappear?

Sometimes these changes, although minor annoyances, are necessary to make things look better and function simpler. Getting to know a newly, slimmed down way of doing anything will have its own learning curve. Changes, can hide or “bury” your favorite features, widgets and functions. This is also true of other computer program and other websites, but Facebook may be one of the most popular American digital destinations, so it effects many people.

MORE THAN ANNOYING

After one Facebook update I noticed a friend had “liked” several unusual things including some counter to things he actually likes. Upon looking closer I found out it was a Facebook trap of sorts. You click on a friend’s like wondering why the heck he would “like” that, because you know he doesn’t. Upon closer inspection its a video, with a familiar click to play button, but clicking it doesn’t seem to do anything. What’s happened is at some point someone figured out how to “game” the Facebook system by putting a clickable image of a video, with a program in the background that hides the real item/page being liked and after each click, although nothing visible happens, the new item is put in to be liked the next time the video image is clicked. Next thing you know your Facebbok newsfeed says:

Joe Public likes kittens. · Like This Page
Joe Public likes red hats. · Like This Page
Joe Public likes Nordstrom high heels on sale for $22 . · Like This Page
Joe Public likes Zappos.com purses. · Like This Page
Joe Public likes laptop computers at Bob’s Computers. · Like This Page
Joe Public likes The Furby game. · Like This Page
Joe Public likes Children’s Books. · Like This Page
Joe Public likes Underoos. · Like This Page
Joe Public likes Toys-R-Us. · Like This Page

What??? Your friend Joe Public got gamed. Since he may not be looking at his own FB page, he probably won’t know until his wife comes home and asks him if he’s feeling okay, then shows him all of his new “likes” on her friend feed page.

Further, check this Blackhat SEO blog post for a “live” example of Facebook hacking, basically a HOWTO live on the web explaining how unethical people can do the above “Joe Public” scheme:

In the example button below, I’ve disguised the Like button to look like a button that might be used to move between different pages. If you click on it, you’ll be Liking my blog.