How Facebook is now being used by aggressive marketers
Facebook is meant to be a place where we can connect with others, let them know what’s going in our lives, and generally share something of ourselves. But as with everything these days, the social network is being infiltrated by hackers, cyber-criminals, and viruses. And the latest group to join that illustrious list? Aggressive Internet marketers.
Brad Ward uncovered the plot to build a database of future students on SquaredPeg.com. In a brilliant expose, he slowly but surely unravels how a company called College Prowler infiltrated the administration of Facebook groups intended for the sole use of the incoming class of 2013.
The issue came to light when Ward noticed a number of Class of 2013 groups for various universities being started on Facebook. Nothing too odd there I suppose, but when Ward noticed that the people who started the groups included the same set of names over and over again he began to get suspicious.
It turns out that these people were affiliated with a company called College Prowler, whose CEO, Luke Skurman, has now responded on Ward’s blog post admitting his company’s involvement. The reason these groups were started? “To use these groups as a way to inform students that they can access a free guide about their new college on our site.”
While that may not sound too ominous, it’s important to remember that one free guide could lead onto other things such as paid-for guides and personal advice. With the amount of university groups these people were involved in running, the number of freshmen available to them for marketing purposes is estimated at around the 1,000,000 mark.
As Ward states:
Think of it: Sitting back for 8-10 months, (even a few years), maybe friending everyone and posing as an incoming student. Think of the data collection. The opportunities down the road to push affiliate links. The opportunity to appear to be an ‘Admin’ of Your School Class of 2013. The chance to message alumni down the road. The list of possibilities goes on and on and on.
To be fair to College Prowler, it has admitted it crossed a line although Skurman defended using social networking sites for marketing strategies such as this. Which means there are likely to be many more instances such as this in the coming years.
No-one can really stop Internet marketers using Facebook, MySpace, and the many other social networks for their own ends. After all, it’s not a crime, more just an abuse of trust. But if this does become the norm, along with the malware and hackers already present on the sites, social networks could die a very premature death.
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