Dear Facebook,
I get that your purpose is not to connect me with friends, family and long lost high school classmates.
No, no, your purpose is to sell advertising. You get money for ads that are created by companies who want to reach select target markets. This all happens on a social media platform that’s free of charge and I can access it 24/7 on lots of different types of technology.
It’s key to remember that you get what you pay for and if you haven’t paid for something, then you’re not really the important person in the relationship/business arrangement.
I understand, I really do. But it still bugs me when I see advertising like this…
Way to play on a woman’s self esteem Facebook!
It’s bad enough when there are Hollywood stars who have personal trainers and mounds and mounds of money so that they can afford to have the pounds melt away.
And even if a woman has a great metabolism, losing weight and getting back into your pre-pregnancy form isn’t always easy. You may have stretch marks, or some extra jiggily parts… but that’s OK, it’s all part of pregnancy and you shouldn’t worry about it.
Heck, there’s pressure enough to be the prefect mother and just getting a shower every few days can seem like a challenge (especially in those first few weeks!).
I don’t want to throw stones from my own glass house either. At the end of April, I returned to Weight Watchers (WW). I became a lifetime member back in 2009. I loved attending the meetings and found it to be a program that encouraged me to eat healthier and to exercise and move more at they’ll say in WW speak. I’ve lost almost 20 lbs, I’m really proud of my progress so far and I’ll write more about it later.
As a marketing and communications professional, I understand the drive behind advertising. But it doesn’t mean I have to like the approach that is sometime involved. So I’ll say what I’m thinking, “Not cool Facebook. Not cool at all.”
I’m on Facebook so that I can keep in touch with friends, family and even some professional contacts that have become friends whom I want to share more than the odd random interaction with every few months. I like to read the latest location and national news. I enjoy seeing photos of someone’s adorable dog, their vacation photos, or a cute child that deserves to have someone click the like button.
It’s too bad those advertising bots and their fancy algorithms can’t read this post to help refocus their ads for me.
At the end of the day, it’s nothing personal; it’s just business. But it still as frustrating as hell.
And that’s my rant for the week. ;)
