[iDC] My Facebook Note RE WalMart's Ad on Facebook

[Janine Carmona]

Hello! Matt Waxman suggested I forward my note to this address. Use it well. 
-Janine 

Facebook Needs to Get its Priorites Straight
By Janine Carmona 



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5:48pm Wednesday, Aug 22





This is a letter to my fellow students and users of Facebook. 

I was alarmed today when I came across a group on Facebook sponsored by WalMart trying to sell me crap for my dorm room. 

This is the first such blatantly corporate advertisements on Facebook I have run across. 

No
matter what you think of WalMart as a company (and there are many who
think that their business practices are disgusting and harmful: http://walmartwatch.com/)
you should note that Facebook is a social networking site that defines
itself as a place for people to connect with those who live and work
around them. This does not include faceless advertisers. The WalMart
group is not a person to network with, to share stories and pictures
with or to talk to- it is a portal to get us to buy stuff. 

WalMart
doesn't have a "face" to "book" and neither do any of the other
corporations that get advertising time from Facebook. I am tired of
corporations invading one of the only Internet spaces left that are not
simply trying to get their hands on my money. 

In lieu of
noting this Facebook should use these simple guidelines to keep me from
deleting my account and moving over to the myriad of social networking
sites that have not sold out: 

1. Corporations are not
individuals, they cannot "network" and should not have access to the
human beings who use Facebook, their contact information, or their
time. 

2. Facebook should seriously consider the human rights
and business practices of a potential advertiser. At least post a
warning that there have been problems with these instead of bowing down
to whoever has the money. It's a bit demeaning, no? 

3. I'm not
saying individuals who like WalMart should have no say here, hell,
-actual- users should make all the "I Love WalMart" groups they want.
Let's just make sure the people making groups are actually people,
shall we? Free speech is fine, but money should not be able to buy the
free speech of a human being. Otherwise, those with the most money
would have the most free speech, and that wouldn't be fair to the rest
of us would it? 

See? 3 practical and simple steps to making me
a happy Facebook consumer. If you agree with me, perhaps you should
share this note, send the practical steps to the Facebook team, or go
to the Walmart group and post a comment on the page-there's already
some fascinating discussion there. 

All my love to the users of Facebook and the employees of WalMart everywhere-may you soon make a decent wage. 



       
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