Want to know if you’re fat? Don’t ask your friends or look in the mirror. Your Facebook site has no problem telling you.
The Washington Post published a startling article, “Fat? Stinky? Facebook ads hit where it hurts,” documenting one user’s experience with Facebook ads, a relatively new service targeting users’ presumed areas of interest — or areas of needed improvement.
This seems like a great starting point for a story, especially if you localize it.
- Investigate students’ experience with Facebook Ads; have any of your students been insulted by an ad?
- Look for local companies using Facebook ads.
- Give it a shot: Email Facebook admin with questions on how the software works, how they decide which ads to send to which users, and how many complaints they’ve received about the service.
- Create an info box highlighting some of the more interesting (even offensive?) statements you’ve found in the Facebook ads service.
