Facebook Ads Turned This Man Into Spokesperson for Giant Tub of Lube
I'm not sure if this is either funny or embarrassing or just plain rude. Nick Bergus posted about a notorious 55 gallon of lube awhile back, and he later saw a Facebook ad of his face with the lube. This happened:
A week later, a friend posts a screen capture and tells me that my post has been showing up next to his news feed as a sponsored story, meaning Amazon is paying Facebook to highlight my link to a giant tub of personal lubricant.
Other people start reporting that they're seeing it, too. A fellow roller derby referee. A former employee of a magazine I still write for. My co-worker's wife. They're not seeing just once, but regularly. Said one friend: "It has shown up as one on mine every single time I log in."
No personal information was disclosed or traded so no one was egregiously harmed. So the next time you decide to say something funny, be careful what sort of ad you might just end up in on Facebook. Other people start reporting that they're seeing it, too. A fellow roller derby referee. A former employee of a magazine I still write for. My co-worker's wife. They're not seeing just once, but regularly. Said one friend: "It has shown up as one on mine every single time I log in."
[Nick Bergus via Kottke]
