4 ms·

I signed up for facebook two years ago, didn't put any real information on there, then haven't touched it since. I still get emails about "people you might know

by c3534l 9y ago

I signed up for facebook two years ago, didn't put any real information on there, then haven't touched it since. I still get emails about "people you might know" that they have absolutely no business knowing about and aren't in any way connected to my immediate family. It's creepy and I don't want them storing that information about me, but there's nothing I can do. I've been cautious about putting my information on the internet since I got my first computer in 1995. But that information got out there somehow anyway.

Bakary 9y ago
In all likelihood your acquaintances and friends were the unwitting source of that information.
Theodores 9y ago
I created a Facebook account because I was doing something with a Facebook API, long enough ago that I have forgotten the details of the project. However, lurking in my spam folder there is always 'you have more friends than you might think' as a subject line in there somewhere, from Facebook, trying to lure me back in. The thing I find funny about this is that they only send out emails with that one subject line. I don't open the emails so the suggested 'friends' might be different with each email, however I am curious why they don't change the subject line, to 'A/B test' me into being part of the known universe of Facebook. Clearly 'you have more friends than you think...' has not worked. If they had bothered with the 'shadow account' then they would have targetted me a bit better, if they found a Facebook group that was likely to appeal to me then they could theoretically lure me in with 'Cats with Facebook accounts in your area' or 'Today's pictures of squirrels enjoying lunch...' but no, let's just try the email that didn't work last time or the time before. Sure they have surreal algorithms that are totally creepy in a stalker way that is totally Peeping Tom and should gross people out, but, as per the dumb emails there is nothing that smart about what they are doing.
- throwanem 9y ago
  Getting you back is low pri. You haven't stopped generating money for Facebook; you've only stopped generating quite as much.
bigbugbag 9y ago
That's the beauty of it, the useds themselves are snitching on their friends. Not only are facebook useds working for facebook for free exposing themselves and others, they also provide troves of metadata.

by c3534l 9y ago

Bakary 9y ago

In all likelihood your acquaintances and friends were the unwitting source of that information.

Theodores 9y ago

I created a Facebook account because I was doing something with a Facebook API, long enough ago that I have forgotten the details of the project. However, lurking in my spam folder there is always 'you have more friends than you might think' as a subject line in there somewhere, from Facebook, trying to lure me back in. The thing I find funny about this is that they only send out emails with that one subject line. I don't open the emails so the suggested 'friends' might be different with each email, however I am curious why they don't change the subject line, to 'A/B test' me into being part of the known universe of Facebook. Clearly 'you have more friends than you think...' has not worked. If they had bothered with the 'shadow account' then they would have targetted me a bit better, if they found a Facebook group that was likely to appeal to me then they could theoretically lure me in with 'Cats with Facebook accounts in your area' or 'Today's pictures of squirrels enjoying lunch...' but no, let's just try the email that didn't work last time or the time before. Sure they have surreal algorithms that are totally creepy in a stalker way that is totally Peeping Tom and should gross people out, but, as per the dumb emails there is nothing that smart about what they are doing.

throwanem 9y ago
Getting you back is low pri. You haven't stopped generating money for Facebook; you've only stopped generating quite as much.

bigbugbag 9y ago

That's the beauty of it, the useds themselves are snitching on their friends. Not only are facebook useds working for facebook for free exposing themselves and others, they also provide troves of metadata.