Need a friend? Brisbane-based uSocial will find thousands of them on Facebook for you—at a price.
Calling Facebook "a massive advertising platform," uSocial offers companies a route to reach legions of potential friends and fans—and clients.
This is how it works: On behalf of an advertiser, uSocial searches Facebook for users whose age, location, and interests suggest they might be interested in signing up as a friend of the company on Facebook. The company then reaches out directly to those individuals, paying uSocial about $727 for each batch of 5,000 Facebook users who agree to become friends, reports The Economist. For Facebook users who agree to become fans uSocial receives a smaller payment.
Chloe Lake, technology editor at news.com.au, reports that recent clients of uSocial's service include Michael Jackson's family, the US Marines, and the South Korean department of tourism.
uSocial is best known for buying votes on Digg for its clients. Digg has served uSocial founder Leon Hill with a cease-and-desist order and tried to lock out uSocial accounts, according to Los Angeles Times blogger Mark Milian.
uSocial's methods directly compete with an advertising service that Facebook itself recently launched, The Economist points out.
There's no word yet on what actions Facebook might take to stop uSocial's activities on its platform, but there can be little doubt that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg won't be friending Leon Hill anytime soon.
