Why would someone who I have not seen in about 10 years want to post where I live on Facebook?
I kept asking this question as I looked at a post from a former work associate; a post to which Facebook alerted me. The message is pretty benign – it just states that my friend “Ralph” said I live in Cincinnati, Ohio, and now Facebook wanted me to confirm it. But why on earth would he post that?
It is among the growing list of items that Facebook is sending me that require approval, all of which appear to be designed to draw more personal information out of me. I have yet to approve this latest post, and doubt I will. Not that I care if people know where I live, but because it is a deceptive data-gathering ploy. I sent a personal message to my old acquaintance through Facebook, asking about the post, and he responded: No, he said, he did not post any such thing.
(Oddly, when I sent that message to my friend through Facebook, my browser froze up completely and I had to force quit.)
Look, I have no problem with marketers using personal information to better target me with marketing messages. If it means I’ll get promotions for products I actually use rather than notices for lap-band surgery or penis enhancement (yes, I get them), then I’m all for it. But it frosts me when I am being duped and tricked into sharing information, especially if a friend is roped into it as well.
I wonder if others of you have received similar posts through Facebook? Let us know – not because we will use it for marketing purposes, but because we are curious.
