While checking my Facebook ‘On-This-Day’ function this morning I stumbled upon a blog I wrote and published on August 25, 2013, entitled 3 Guiding Business Principles.
Four years later, I continue to endorse and emulate these three guiding principles: Be simple. Be genuine. Be honest. I have, however, would like to add a three more business principles.
You may have heard the term doxxing used in recent months, and in particular if you have been on Twitter over the last few days as a result of the events in Charlottesville, Virginia. While I had heard the term, and had an idea of what it meant, a quick Google search eliminated any doubt:
Doxxing: [to] search for and publish private or identifying information about (a particular individual) on the Internet, typically with malicious intent.
Have you ever seen an ad on your Facebook Timeline and wondered how the heck it got there? Well, it has to do with something you posted, or something you clicked on at one point in your personal Facebook history. Without getting too technical, Facebook collects a tremendous amount of data from its users, which it then uses to power its advertising system. If you have never looked at the level of specificity that an advertiser can winnow their ads down to, you will be in for a shock. It’s more than just age, gender, location, etc., but it goes right down to the hobbies and interests of users, which is all based on the information they collect as described above.
Advertising has quickly become one of the main purposes of social media platforms. Facebook, like most social media trends, was the innovator in this respect with its right-side advertising and boosted posts, but platforms like Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat have taken it the next level with influencer advertising.
As the standard bearer for all social media platforms, Facebook is constantly in the news for a whole variety of reasons. Lately, the live video streaming service Facebook Live has been a particular focus of the media, and not for the best of reasons.
