Facebook ‘Likes’ No Longer a Private Affair

Aug. 31, 2013 - PRLog -- Ever since the ‘like’ feature was introduced by Facebook in 2009, it has been at the heart of the website’s much-coveted interactive appeal. But with your Facebook ‘likes’ now being apparently ‘misused’, it looks like they mean more than you ever realized. Facebook ‘likes’ are no longer your private affair. TechyV.com, an upcoming online technical solution provider, took a sneak peek at the latest revelation and seems to have the answers.

Ostensibly, the ‘like’ feature of Facebook comes across as a popular form of socializing, while at the backend, it serves as a vital source of data not just for this social utility giant, but also for profilers and third parties associated with it. “Our ‘likes’ on Facebook reveal everything about us, from our IQ to our sexuality, to those who we have nothing to do with”, says a renowned researcher at the University of Amsterdam, highlighting how a social networking tool can help in tracking and collecting statistical data for advertisers and other businesses. “It’s shocking how innocent ‘likes’ by people on a social networking website are being ‘insensitively’ used to reveal sensitive information about them and statistically predict things that are even more sensitive. As if this privacy infringement wasn’t enough, the ‘likes’ on Facebook have now become a serious business. ‘Likes’ are being sold, forced upon, and even hacked!” says Sharath Reddy, an avid technical blogger and founder of Techyv.com.

“There are attractive ads and intriguing pictures posted on Facebook almost every day forcing people to ‘like’ pages. Posts like ‘Like this picture and see what happens’ have become quite common. Friends are forcing their friends to like pages in a hope to get some reference benefits. People are buying and selling ‘likes’. A Facebook ‘like’ is no longer something you do at your will. There is a clear trade-off happening between having free access to such social networking services and the information we are forced to give up”, he adds.

The Reason Behind

With Facebook currently having over 1.15 billion users, gaining fans or ‘likes’ is now being seen as a valuable marketing opportunity by companies. There are over 4.5 billion likes reported on the website every day, a number that has increased by a whopping 68 per cent since 2012. Ever imagined how? While the legitimate marketing firms have actively used social media websites like Facebook to boost fan following, there are thousands of illegitimate businesses as well that are making a fortune by offering ‘fans’ or ‘likes’ for sale. Facebook ‘likes’ are being directly translated into money. A latest research by a popular social intelligence company reveals that one single ‘like’ on a page is worth $174 for a brand. No wonder ‘likes’ are increasingly being faked or forced onto people.

Are Facebook ‘Likes’ Really on Sale?

Search the keyword ‘Facebook Likes’ in a popular search engine and you will find thousands of companies offering ‘Facebook likes’ at ‘great’ prices. You can easily find websites offering good bargains like ‘2000 likes at just $97’, luring customers to buy such packages to promote sales, exclusive deals, services and products.

These online services have found a great market already as more and more companies are willing to buy such deals to increase brand awareness, deliver ad campaigns to right audience, build a dedicated fan base, and even drive traffic to their websites. “If a number of people are visiting and liking a page regularly, one could put up a link to a website or an advertisement on that page to generate commission from referral of traffic should a sale occurs. This industry is seriously huge”, says the CEO of a renowned SEO and online marketing company. A recent search also confirmed that with around 14,000 websites offering ‘likes’ services, the business in Facebook fakery is definitely booming.

The Final Blow – The ‘Like’ Hijack

Looks like the greed for easy money from Facebook ‘likes’ has now taken a serious turn. The latest revelation on the internet says that your Facebook ‘likes’ are now getting ‘hijacked’ by hackers to like things and pages that you really don’t like. In a recent survey, around 200 regular Facebook users were interviewed and a shocking 79% people claimed that their Facebook timeline shows over 500 likes on pages they never visited. 82% of them said that they felt embarrassed to see their likes on pages promoting products like medicines for muscle gain, pregnancy, and male enhancement. While 27% said that they really don’t bother, the remaining 73% claimed to be in distress when they ‘unlike’ and see these ‘likes’ coming back.

These people are not alone. Millions of Facebook accounts have now been plagued. It is quite obvious that this sudden growth has been partially fuelled by hacking, with thousands of hackers actively breaking into people’s Facebook accounts and using computer viruses to stir up a huge ‘black market of Likes’.

Ensure you are Not a Victim

Facebook made no attempt to hide the fact that with its potential of advert personalization, it is helping advertisers in more in-depth categorization and profiling. In fact, it has always been keen at pointing out that users always have an option to change ‘privacy’ settings to keep ‘likes’ private. But with Facebook accounts now being hacked to capitalize on the ‘likes’, how effective Facebook’s ‘privacy settings’ are in protecting our privacy remains questionable. TechyV.com takes a step ahead to tell you how to avoid being a victim of the Facebook ‘Likes’ Hijack, until a robust and convincing solution to this is provided by Facebook. Read more on how o avoid being victimized in Techyv’s latest article - ‘Facebook Privacy a ‘Serious’ Joke’ (http://www.techyv.com/article/facebook-privacy-%E2%80%98s...)