We see them in our news feed constantly. They’re pictures that manipulate us into liking or sharing. We see a photo like this and think, “Well, heck yeah, I’d save my Momma!” … and the weird part is, we find ourselves clicking the “like” button just so everyone will know we don’t want dear ol’ mom to burn alive in a fiery ball of death.
We’re guilted into liking or sharing images that indicate our religious beliefs, political opinions, intelligence, or compassion towards others. We fall for it easily enough – after all, we want all of our friends to know what we truly stand for! However, there’s more behind the “Share if you love God, ignore if you love Satan” kinds of posts than allowing the Almighty to see how many people are on His (or Her, if you so prefer) side….
Money.
Yep… sorry to burst your bubble, but it’s all about money. FYI – God doesn’t need a Like Button to see where your loyalty lies.
You see, Facebook wanted to develop a way of knowing whose Facebook pages were considered the “most important”. They decided to base this on things such as likes and shares of the original post. I mean, obviously, if a Facebook account can generate tens of thousands of likes or shares of its posts on a regular basis, then that must mean that the information is important and worthwhile. It’s called EdgeRank and it’s based on the Facebook Like algorithm. Long story short, EdgeRank helps determine how frequently your posts show up in others’ news feeds.
Now, where does all of this boil down to money? Here, let me show you….
Businesses are always looking for a way to promote themselves online. And social media like Facebook is becoming more and more helpful to many B2C companies. However, building up such Internet influence takes a lot of time and dedication. It’s far easier just to buy an account from someone who’s already done all of the tedious work so you can just reap the benefits of it later on down the road.
So, to wrap this up and keep it short, that handsome soldier’s birthday has long since passed. The girl with Down Syndrome has no idea that you’ve liked her photo to tell her she’s pretty. If you comment on a photo to “See what happens!!”, you’ll just see the same photo through wiser, though somewhat sheepish, eyes. And you won’t be going to hell for ignoring a Facebook post.
Now of course, we understand that Facebook is a social platform to share those things we feel are important or humorous. Go ahead and do so. Just don’t think that your like or comment is suddenly going to raise money for that little boy dying of a brain tumor.
Now if you share this post today, starving children will get to eat… if you don’t, terrorists will likely take over Texas with chemically-enhanced duct tape.
Your choice.
Source: Like if you hate cancer! : Facebook share-scams explained