This past Friday it surfaced that Facebook started including user profile photos in ads run with in the Facebook network. It’s widely known that if a product or service is vouched for by a close friend the liklihood that you’ll investigate and buy the product or use the service increases. The marketing and advertising folks at Facebook know their stuff and they’re taking full advantage of their terms of use to increase click through rates on ads and monetize their community.

What does this mean to you? It means if you don’t dig into the privacy settings and opt out of having your profile photo or perhaps other photos of yours used in ads, you could end up with your photo(s) next to an online dating service ad or perhaps something as awkward as a Viagra ad.

While many wondered why all the fuss about the photo unfriendly Facebook Terms of Use I hope you now understand. Facebook is an advertising engine looking to exploit trust between you and your network to maximize profits. The fact that they force you to opt-out versus opt-in to this type of system shows their true intentions contradicting past statements. As before if you use Facebook be aware and be diligent in checking to see what they’re up to and how they’re using your creative content.

Facebook Dating Ad Hooks Up Married Man … With His Wife – Mashable

Facebook sez, “Don’t mind us, we’re just whoring out your photos” – DownloadSquad

All you have to do to prevent this is sign in to Facebook and click through to (get ready) -> Settings -> Privacy -> News Feed and Wall -> Facebook Ads -> Appearance in Facebook Ads and click “no one.” Unless, of course, you want to be semifamous and have your picture used to push some garbage product or website without your knowledge

Facebook reassures users in wake of service terms change – Breitbart

“”We wouldn’t share your information in a way you wouldn’t want,” Zuckerberg said”

[tags]Facebook, Terms of Use, photography, social media[/tags]