Recently re-located into my ‘cosy’ ‘unique’ ‘adorable’ shoe-box studio in East Village, NYC and decided to maximise the amount of space I have.

To do this, instead of buying a TV - I purchased a 28 inch Monitor and a TV card to run cable through the monitor or stream through NetFlix, Hulu, Joost etc.. I can easily watch the TV from my couch whilst also use it for working as a desk.

Hulu.com - is now a source of entertainment at full-screen. As is CNN news etc.. streaming versions. I watch from the couch.

Using Internet from a couch has demonstrated something different to me. What I’ve noticed - is that those 30 second video in-stream adverts that are annoying when you are sitting at a desk watching IPTV … have become very similar to those on main-stream TV when on a couch. When the advert comes on - now, you can quickly get up (easier than moving your chair from the desk) and get a glass of water, put kettle on or visit the toilet. How much more similar to mainstream TV model can that get ?!?

The most effective adverts I’ve seen to date that dont annoy, that are noticed and have a brand effect are those that ‘rise up’ from the bottom of the screen during the show. Simple, not intrusive and work well for related content association. However, they can also be prone to some bad screengrabs… (see below).

WARNING - do NOT click on ANY links on this article, until you have read the entire article and understand how they work.

Firstly - if this has happened to you - log-in to facebook and change your password. That will fix the issue.

Has your facebook account been violated? Are you sure? A lovely friend of mine left me a message on my wall. Anna is a trusted friend. She showed me a wonderful time in Shanghai when I was over there and has some great friends that I met.

WARNING - do NOT click on ANY links on this article, until you have read the entire article and understand how they work.

WARNING - do NOT click on ANY links on this article, until you have read the entire article and understand how they work.

So - when I see a message on my wall from Anna, saying

“mate she’s ma new friend add her up and give her a lil time as she is new here ”
her profile is at
http://www.facebook.com.profile.id.cdyoungnieustepliwosc.kapital.31c5f18a7f.com/facebook/index.php?id=bigfish&auth=mnjnjmkoknZ&cyua=stawialo” my initial thought (like any young man on facebook) is how cute is this friend!?!?

HOWEVER - I also know that’s not how profile URL strings look, because I happen to be an adept stalker on facebook etc and tried many ways to see more of profiles than Im allowed.

So what is it? The website is NOT facebook.

If you break down all the dots’ in the URL it becomes clearer - for example - this blog is on digital.chrisbrinkworth.com the main domain is chrisbrinkworth.com. When you break down all the dots of the above it becomes thus:
www.
facebook.com.
profile.
id.
cdyoungnieustepliwosc.
kapital.
31c5f18a7f.com then the /facebook/index.php?id=bigfish&auth=mnjnjmkoknZ&cyua=stawialo bit.

So - the main domain is www.31c5f18a7f.com and not Facebook. What i LOVE about this is they even put the words ‘bigfish’ into the php string like the calling card the old-school theives leave in the heist movies.

So - It’s a phising site designed to get your log-in and password - so they can do all sorts of fun automated things logged in as you. They use your trust in Facebook and that in your friends to con you into giving them your log-in details to your facebook account - then post on everyone’s walls the same scam that got YOU in this mess.

So - now you know what it is, do the following steps EXACTLY to safely understand the con.

1)Click on Anna’s link above (the full version)
2)Look at how it’s exactly like Facebook
3)DO NOT ENTER YOUR REAL EMAIL ADDRESS OR PASSWORD
4)Enter a pretend email address and a made up password.
5)Look where it takes you. It takes you back to facebook! - but you are still not logged in.

If you had used your real details the same would’ve happend - you wouldn’t be logged in - but your account details would’ve been stolen and all of YOUR friends will be getting a message on their wall very shortly from ‘the robot’ and not you. The thing is - most people have no idea and the robot may wait a week before going into your account. IE - it may decide that as you and most of your friends are in the Sydney network - it will wait till 3am on a tuesday to post on all their walls. That way, you dont know that it’s happened until you’ve had breakfast etc.. and logged on - and by then, many people would have fallen for the same phising trick.

I reccomend that you change your password regularly like I do just in case. You never know who currently has it.

HOWEVER - I just want to take you back a few years to 2003/2004

Back then, I was lucky enough to work with some great people on an award winning campaign for the launch of Playstation’s network gaming in Australia.
The task was to a)Find people who had a PS2, b)See if they had broadband c) Let them KNOW (ie - in a big way) that they can now play eachother over the internet.

Small budget - but we had to make it look big (ie - look, the ads are everywhere - this must be massive, I need to get onboard)

Short version - without getting into a case-study:
Preperation:
In the leadup to the campaign, we profiled people in Australia who owned a PS2 and cookied them. This was done through PS2 sections on numerous gaming sites, questionaires, emails databases etc. We stored all of this data ready for the launch campaign.

Launch:
We negotiated with the major publishers and gaming sites in Australia (who would let us do this) to detect several things when a user came to their homepage or chosen section:
a)Do these people have our cross-network cookie that says ‘I have a PS2′
b)Do they have broadband (This done through IP targeting)

If the answer was yes to both points - we ran a high saturation of adverts to these people for a period of 2 weeks across all placements. Effectively following them around the internet and showing them the different aspects of network gaming with your PS2.

(Credit due - Damien Healy (now Operations Director for Atlas UK ) was the technical guru that made this possible)

Later, I was lucky enough to attend the 2004 Microsoft SAS conference, where peers meet in Redmond for a conference about online advertising.

One of the segments of the conference was a ‘panel’ chaired by Michael Kinsley from Slate which featured Yusuf Medhi (MSN) Terry Semel (Yahoo) and Greg Stuart (IAB). The aim was to discuss ‘how can everyone work better together’.
I put forward the question to Terry of what would the chances be of working together to unify ad-serving systems and tracking. IE - If I show my target audience a roadblock advert on MSN and he appears on Yahoo, how do I match the two ads up to work well together, avoid piss-off factor and generaly get better results for the client.

What got me - reading the story today about FetchBack (who are basicaly now doing exactly what we want) - is that Michael said to me back then (i guess, based on my english accent) “I dont know about where you are from - but we have something here called the Justice Department”

So - is this now fixed? Is there no longer a Justice Department in the USA - or was the idea back then just too far ‘fetched’? Looks like we wern’t the only people playing with this back then.

Go read more about Fetchback and see what you think. Any reason why Google shouldnt do something like this now they own Doubleclick - who’s technology we used to do this all that time ago? Would be nice to tie it in with AdWords.

Well - I just saw someone join a group titled “Help us Reunite this lass with her Camera..”

You can imagine what the group is about. Some poor young lady has lost her camera… with a few shots on there that she would not want to show in public.

Now, I had two thoughts from this (other than those of a paternal feeling for the young lady’s emotions when she finds out about this)

1) What if this was a set-up? IE - get a model to do some shots, put the shots online and own the group and watch it grow. 24,00 members already and growing - THAT would be using this medium to it’s best, so far as a campaign is concerned. The photos of her are generaly on a beach holiday somewhere. Contiki - this is right up you alley. PLEASE be a set-up.

2) Looking through the photos (view all, it’s easier) TicketClub.com have uploaded photographs to the group - that are adverts. I’ve not seen this yet, and because it’s a group about photos - the advertisers (spammers?) know that people will look at the Adverts to get through the photos - thus, creating awareness. I truly think that this will grow as an idea. How can facebook police all the account sign ups and posts. IE - you only need to join the largest pointless groups and post the photos in there and get out again. It’s just how will it be perceived by the user that’s the key.

I have my account back. Thank goodness.

I’ve had some reference to my posts about my account being disabled from bloggers and I just want to clarify something - I am very satisfied with facebooks customer service.

Luckily, because I was already in an ‘email support ticket’ thread with facebook since Aug 15th - I used that thread to also highlight my disabled account on facebook. The facebook staff member who was dealing with my issue of ‘group email function not working’ very thoughtfuly forwarded that query onto another staff member who deals with account disablement, who promptly replied back. The email thread is below.

I would suggest, that if I didnt have this current open ticket for an issue beyond my control - that a fresh email from me would still be backlogged with a few thousand other people who are disabled for spamming and appealing (which, I admit - it looks like I was doing).

So - all in all, on the record I believe credit should be given where it is due: I want to thank the staff at Facebook for communicating with each other internaly in such a short period of time and am very impressed. Thank you.

p.s. - below, where you see ‘xxxx’. That’s where I’ve blanked out a name. It’s not kisses!

—– Original Message —–
From: “XXXXX from Facebook”
To:
Sent: Thursday, August 30, 2007 6:19 PM
Subject: [rt.facebook.com #XXXXX] Groups Help: Group Message - facebook gives HTML code in text box.

> Hi Chris,
>
> You’re welcome. Let me know if you have any more
> questions or problems.
>
> Thanks,
>
> xxxxx
> Customer Support Representative
> Facebook
>
> [brinkworth@gmail.com - Wed Aug 29 17:09:42 2007]:
>
> Thanks xxxxx. I also note that having two accounts is
> against the rules.
> I have deactivated that one now.
>
> Thanks for your help and prompt response.
>
> —– Original Message —–
> From: “XXXXX from Facebook”
> To:
> Sent: Thursday, August 30, 2007 12:38 AM
> Subject: [rt.facebook.com #XXXXX] Groups Help: Group
> Message - facebook
> gives HTML code in text box.
>
>
>> Hi Chris,
>>
>> Your account was disabled because you took repeated
>> actions that could be construed as spam. For instance,
> it
>> is a violation of Facebook’s Terms of Use to repeatedly
>> send the same message or to make the same post.
>> Facebook prides itself in protecting users from spam,
> and
>> we take this standard very seriously.
>>
>> However, after reviewing your situation, we have
>> reconfirmed your account and you should now be able
> to
>> access it again. Please do not send or post any more
> form
>> messages. Further violations of our Terms will result in
>> the termination of your account.
>>
>> Finally, please be aware that when a warning message
>> appears on your homepage, it will generally be displayed
>> for 24 hours. It can be displayed for longer, however, if
>> you continue performing these abusive actions. We
>> appreciate your cooperation going forward.
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> xxxxx
>> Customer Support Representative
>> Facebook
>>
>>
>>
>> [brinkworth@gmail.com - Wed Aug 29 13:09:54 2007]:
>>
>> Hi XXXXXX
>>
>> Quick question in the mean-time. I’ve just been
> disabled.
>> I guess it’s
>> because I was trying to grow my group by emailing
> related
>> people directly
>>
>> I’d love to know more, but the link it says to visit for
> more
>> info on being
>> disabled… doesnt work: http://login.facebook.com/
>> help.php?page=44
>>
>> Can you help me here at all with finding the right link?
>>
>> Thanks very much.
>>
>> Chris
>>
>> —– Original Message —–
>> From: “zzzzzz from Facebook”
>> To:
>> Sent: Friday, August 17, 2007 5:06 PM
>> Subject: [rt.facebook.com #zzzzzzzz] Groups Help:
> Group
>> Message - facebook
>> gives HTML code in text box.
>>
>>
>>> Hi Chris,
>>>
>>> We are aware of the group messaging problem that
> you
>> described and
>>> hope to resolve it as soon as possible. Sorry for any
>> inconvenience.
>>> Let me know if you have any further questions.
>>>
>>> Thanks for contacting Facebook,
>>>
>>> zzzzzzzz
>>> Customer Support Representative
>>> Facebook
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> [brinkworth@gmail.com - Thu Aug 16 14:23:04 2007]:
>>>
>>> Hi guys,
>>>
>>> Sorry to push - but this is time sensitive.
>>>
>>> Thanks
>>>
>>> Chris
>>> —– Original Message —–
>>> From: “Chris Brinkworth - Gmail Account”
>>
>>> To:
>>> Sent: Thursday, August 16, 2007 11:26 AM
>>> Subject: Re: [rt.facebook.com #zzzzzz] AutoReply:
>> Groups Help:
>>> Group
>>> Message - facebook gives HTML code in text box.
>>>
>>>
>>>> Hi,
>>>>
>>>> Keen to send a message out.
>>>>
>>>> Do you have an update please?
>>>>
>>>> Thanks
>>>>
>>>> Chris
>>>> —– Original Message —–
>>>> From: “Information from Facebook”
>>
>>>> To:
>>>> Sent: Wednesday, August 15, 2007 11:10 PM
>>>> Subject: [rt.facebook.com #6012495] AutoReply:
>> Groups Help:
>>> Group
>>>> Message - facebook gives HTML code in text box.
>>>>> Hi,
>>>>>
>>>>> Facebook Customer Support has received your
>> inquiry. Stand by
>>> as we
>>>>> should be back with you soon. In the meantime, we
>> encourage
>>> you to
>>>>> review our ‘Help’ page (http://www.facebook.com/
>> help.php).
>>> You’ll find
>>>>> lots of information about Facebook as well as many
>> answers to
>>> your
>>>>> questions. Check out the FAQs on our Support page
>> too.
>>>>> Thanks for contacting Facebook and enjoy the site!
>>>>> -Facebook Customer Support

Would you look at that. Within an hour or so of my post on Facebook Spelling Errors and Account Disabled and details about my account being disabled, the problems are all fixed! I have a nice clean spelling error free screengrab (below)and the link now works. That’s fast action Faceebok…. are you subscribed to my RSS Mr Zuckerbeg?

This post is NOT just about Spam… but starts there.

So - now I know for sure why I was disabled. It WAS spam. ( BUT - it was not the emailing. I had also been posting on related group walls - so, be warned - this is what happens). Here’s the ruling:
—
Disabled - SPAM
Why was I disabled?

Faceboook limits the number of times a user can send the same message or make the same post. Your account has been disabled for taking repeated actions that were construed as spam.
Why are there limits?

Facebook has limits in place to prevent abuse of our features and to protect users from potential spam.
What are the limits?

Unfortunately, Facebook cannot provide any specifics on the rate limits that we enforce. Please know, however, that the speed at which you are acting and the sheer number of actions you have made are both taken into account.

—-

BUT - that is not all.

The groups that I set up? Those with stack loads of people, ie - the largest AU Internet Industry group and largest AU Advertising Media group etc…? :
As soon as my account was disabled…. the position for ‘admin’ - ie, being in control of that group - BECAME AVAILBLE! IE - anyone could have stepped in and taken control whilst Im disabled. That meant, that a stranger could now ‘own’ that property. Not good if you put all the work in to build the group. After some frantic wheeling and dealing with friends - we are now ‘ok’. (Actualy - if you dig around, you will find ONE industry group without admin) NOTE TO ALL: ALWAYS HAVE A TRUSTED PERSON AS A SECOND ADMIN.

Which brings me to my second point.

I currently have another Second Life (SL) facebook account (ie not the real me).
I set this up on Facebook, to test RSS feeds etc.. for marketing trial purposes. The idea was, that before your mailing options get restricted when you hit 1,000 members you make the group ‘closed’ (request join) and you tell all to ‘add this SL account to your friends’. Then when you are in all of their friends list - you could feed news and retain some aspect of promotion control through their mini-feeds . New members to the closed group, can only join if they add your SL as a friend etc…

HOWEVER - I now advise NOT to do that. I have just read that that is totaly against T&C’s also… Which leads me onto my final point…

With Facebook looking to be so big and MAYBE become THE platform online I am so scared of losing my REAL LIFE (RL) identity - that I want to be as clean as I can just in case. SO - my SL identity will have to go in a second when I’ve posted this, so Im all fine and can contest this current RL disablement issue with my mind at rest.

Wish me luck - and, if you really are subscribed to my feed Mr Zuckerbeg - please go easy on me, I like this facebook thing.