Facebook domains

[WG2010]

Picked up GetLikes.com.au & GetFans.com.au today. Sure, the volume isn't there but these types of services are a growing trend in the US and more recently here so it may pick up in a few years time if more businesses flock to Facebook. Thankfully, neither infringe on Facebook TM.

Opinons on value? Working on popping up 2 sites as these types of services can be outsourced quite easily. For $40, worth a punt IMO. Might be some value IMO considering the retarded amount of money some companies are spending on social media and likes/fans appeal to ones ego.

 

[James]

Running a Facebook likes business's has been around for as long as pages have been around. It was a very active market until some big changes were made around a year ago with the way you can transfer likes to accounts/pages. I think any one who was offering Like services in the USA has been taken down quick heavily by Facebook's legal team from what I have seen, even in the USA/UK/CA C&D letters were going to every one. Just a matter of time before they target Australian website owners.

Also Facebook is trying to trademark the words "Face" "Like" "Likes" if you run a website which is connected to Facebook ie offering FB related services in any way you are going to run into trouble.

Sure these services can be outsourced to india but all they do is make a large amount of fake accounts and drive people via dodgy apps you can never get a quality user base.

 

[WG2010]

Hey James,

I wasn't suggesting it was anything new, just a little surprised they were not taken given the circus that is social media. Can you link to any news piece or article regarding the legal threads regarding these types of services? It's news to me but would be very interested in reading. I can't find anything in Google about this.

I've read stories about them trying to TM those terms but until they get it, I'm not worried.

I've not seen any down turn in providers of these services on some of the forums I frequent and there are a handful of people bidding on these and other related keywords in Adwords.

As for building a quality userbase, I agree these types of services won't make you money but they're enough to kick start a campaign to induce other likes because no-one likes what no-one else likes if you get what I mean.

Still, interesting topic IMO.

 

[James]

Ages ago in 2009 when likes trading was hot usocial was one of the biggest players in Australia http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8370302.stm Facebook tried to take them down numerous times, but as they were in Aus was harder.

The facebook takes on similar websites -

http://www.allfacebook.com/facebook-fires-back-at-lamebook-with-a-lawsuit-2010-11

I know many people who offer these services in the USA I have seen many of their websites be taken down, just saying its not exactly a long term business.

I even read today Facebook is probably removing the "suggest to friends" button on Pages a key area these services are offered.

 

[WG2010]

The USocial article was regarding friends but they still offer their like service but it's pitched differently which to me looks and sounds like a legitimate business service. Don't see how it's much different to assisting with page creation and ppc which is also quite common.

 

[James]

Assisting with PPC ie management/ Page creation is a totally different thing to generating likes but =)

But yeah I wouldn't worry too much in Aus they don't seem to give it the legal push, yet in the USA at the moment they really go after every one.

 

[WG2010]

Not really when you consider people are running PPC campaigns in order to get more likes, so that can easily form part of a site that offers to get a business more likes or fans.

I still can't find any references to Facebook chasing people who offer to boost your likes or fans. Fake accounts/profiles yeah sure but that's a bit different. I don't see anything dodgy about assisting a business get more likes/fans. The fact USocial still sell Likes after Facebook chased them is proof enough of that IMO.