"It's a sign of virility when you've got a lot of people who like you on Facebook."

id always wondered what the point of having a ton of friends on Facebook really was. now at last, i know. apparently it has to do with being virile. im just not sure that i really want my products to be 'virile' . . . i mean, really. do you want to Coke to be your baby's daddy?

the disturbing part of this, and where being social and 'showing your colors' turns into you having a logo and a bar code plastered across your virtual head is the 'next steps' part of this branded interaction:

"Once a consumer likes a brand, a message is sent via his or her News Feed to their friends, generating earned media impressions. Updates from the brand can then appear in the user's News Feed."

GREAT! now your lovely social page has become an advertising page. and what's more, all your friends will be getting this delightful feed as well.

these revelations, that brands are just now getting to 'like' [heheh], are chipping away at the cornerstone of permission marketing. yes, there's an 'implicit' permission being given to the brand, but this is one shot deal folks! yes, i might like this one commercial, or want to pass the word on one special deal that i spotted. . . that doesn't mean that i want to become your virtual billboard.

the article goes on to point out how there can be some negative effects to persuading folks to 'like' a brand through 'get some' incentives [loving the Playboy example. yes i want free photos!]

"these aggressive strategies can pile up Likes from people who don't have true brand affinity. In this way, he believes the Likes are tantamount to "false advertising" because a message goes out from the user who just wants to see a video or play a game-not because he's interested in the brand itself."

so again, is this actually building the brand's equity? can we count 'likes' as part of our ROI analysis? what is it folks are actually 'LIKING' here!?!

so in the end, no matter how virile your brand winds up being, gentlemen, the old saying that every lady knows still holds: "It ain't what you got, it's how you use it."