Obama wants you to read this post.

Actually, President Obama doesn’t know about this post (yet), but I was very curious about this advertising tactic I’ve been seeing in Facebook ads recently. So, I did a little research, and have come up with more questions than answers.

Lately, I’ve been seeing these ads in the right sidebar of my Facebook profile.

Obviously, with the popularity of Obama during the last election season among internet users, it’s easy to see why some advertising companies would be tempted to wring every last bit of social energy they can out of his name for as long as possible. These ads are appearing on Facebook feeds that talk about Obama, so they are apparently utilizing keywords, but obviously not semantic web techonology (as any reading of “tone” would detect that I am not exactly a fan of the current administration, and would not be likely to do ANYTHING simply because “Obama urged me to”).

Several companies have tried this, unsuccessfully. Here are some examples:

The problems encountered by the above companies have been carefully avoided in the ads appearing on Facebook. Obama’s name was not used as the name of the company in any of the ads, and the content of the ads was not controversial in nature.

Ok. But wait, there’s more… (Continue reading, and give your opinion!)

No, that’s not you in the video, and don’t click on that link! (New Twitter Worm)

This is from Mashable:

Unsuspecting users are receiving DMs [Direct Messages on Twitter] with the following text:

If you get this DM, DO NOT VISIT THE LINK. It takes you to a replica of the Twitter login page where the hackers will steal your account and use it to send out more infected DMs to your friends.

If you’re one of the unlucky ones to be fooled by this worm, make sure you change your password. Also delete any tweets or DMs that have the link. If you can’t log into your account, reset the password and contact Twitter Support…Continue reading WARNING: Twitter Worm Spreading via Direct Messages

Well, isn’t that just precious? The Lockerbie Bomber has a blog.

Remember Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi? He’s also known as the “Lockerbie Bomber,” for his part in killing 270, including 190 Americans in 1988. Scotland recently released him, ostensibly on “compassionate” grounds, because he is supposedly terminally ill. After he was given a hero’s welcome in Libya, information has begun to surface, indicating that his release was most likely a deal for oil.

So…what’s the dying martyr wannabe up to now? He has his own website, declaring his innocence: MegrahiMyStory.net (Yes, I used rel=”nofollow” on that link!) Feel free to check it out – download the .pdf’s at your own risk (I didn’t, and wouldn’t recommend it).

“Poking,” the old Fashioned Way

With no interwebz, Frank had to poke his friends manually…(Hat-tip to Tiekirae for this one, via the Web 2.0 Reader!) Also see: Networking with Facebook: Tutorial for Beginners