How to Eliminate Facebook Wall Spam

By Anthony Garcia - Aug 10 , 2010

Spam is a reality in the digital world, so like most, I have learned to tolerate and filter most of it out.

Spam from ‘friends’ on my Facebook wall is very different matter.

My Facebook wall is almost a holy place, where I interact with friends, family, and soon to be better friends. So when marketers decide to place an ad on my wall, it feels worse and is a true violation of the unwritten rules of common decency on FB.  It the equivalent of  someone putting a Billboard on my front yard without my consent.

Usually when this happens I just delete their wall post and remove them from my friend list, which is what I was about to do yesterday morning.  Then something switched in my brain. I decided to use the very same tool the ‘spammer’ used to fight back.

Below is the series of back and forth’s I had when I got ‘spammed’ by Paul Cutright yesterday morning. It is raw and unedited, includes typos and is just as it happened.

It started with this post on my FB Wall.

Paul Cutright Hi Anthony – Dr. Joe Vitale is so inspiring! I just watched

this interview he did with Ryan Higgins from Mind Movies and Nick Ortner from World Tapping Summit. I know both of these guys and thought you might like to check it out and get the free audio – just click EFT and Mind Movies below . . .

Then I replied on my wall…

Anthony C. Garcia Jr. If you post your spam on my wall, you get removed from my friends list, and I broadcast your douchebaginess to my 3000+ friends here. Paul you posted an ad on my lawn without permission. Not cool.

Friends, if you don’t like douchebags, and Paul Cutright is on your friend list, I suggest you remove him as I have.

When will marketers get a clue?

Harsh? Maybe.  But do you disagree?  Shortly after this post(and a dozen likes and comments on my post), Paul sent me a message on FB.  Here is the thread from beginning to end.

Subject: Please accept my apologies

Paul Cutright August 9 at 11:57am

Hi Anthony — please know that I meant no offense in sending you that message. I see you unfriended me already.

I guess I don’t understand your hostility, though, when a simple request to not do anything like that again would do.

I don’t expect us to be “FB friends” again, but I would appreciate you deleting the unecessarily nasty “douchebag” message you posted. Makes me think you have no idea who I am or what I am about.

Paul

Anthony C. Garcia Jr. August 9 at 2:59pm

Paul,

Placing an unsolicited ad on my wall(or anyone’s) is a hostile act. Just because it is possible doesn’t mean you should. I only responded in proportion to the initial hostile act taken by you.

And tell me why I would want to know someone who would place something on my wall without my permission? You were clever enough to see that you could expose your message on my wall, are you not clever enough to understand my response? I was only using the same tool that you were to get my message across.

Has nobody called you on this before? Will you stop spamming people’s walls? Or are just sorry because someone actually did something you didn’t expect and you feel like you have egg on your mug?

I am ready to listen and hear you out put please know that I will share our conversation with my FB friends if you do choose to reply.

Anthony.

Paul Cutright August 9 at 3:17pm Report

Anthony,

Thank you for responding to my message. I understand you interpreted my post as a hostile act. The perception of hostility is in your interpretation, not in my intention. And your assumption of hostile intent without checking it out first is, in my opinion, over the top and uncalled for, especially with your vulgar epithet.

As a matter of fact, I have NEVER posted anything like this EVER before, for what it’s worth. No one has ever called me on this because it has never happened before. Again, you have made an incorrect assumption about my behavior as a social media participant and business person without any grounding whatsoever.

This was simply a mistake, plain and simple. Where I come from mistakes call for correction, not judgment or punishment. But, that’s just where I come from.

I am more than willing for you to share this conversation with your friends. I am also more than willing to clear this up, but I am not sure you are.

Paul

Anthony C. Garcia Jr. August 9 at 3:59pm

Paul,

I make mistakes, and if you were the unwitting recipient of the end of my patience with spam on my FBwall, I can accept that and broadcast that as well. As most of my friends can attest, my heart is bigger than my mouth.

If you are indeed a spammer, people will know and call you on it, if you are not, then good for you and good for everyone.

As you can guess, I am simply defending my wall and others who complain and just accept it as part of their FB experience. Somebody has to.

There are lessons everywhere you look, and if you and I can turn this into something that will help others have a better experience on FB or even market themselves better, I would vote for that. How about you?

Enjoy the day,

Anthony

<End of thread>

If you are a marketer or social media guru that recommends posting unsolicited advertising on a ‘friends’ Facebook wall, please rethink your tactics.    It won’t be long before people understand what I did.   That my Facebook wall is a more powerful weapon in MY hands than it is in yours.

Of course, this is not the only reason you shouldn’t do it. Bottom line, it just doesn’t work.(More on that in a separate post)

I am not convinced that Paul isn’t a spammer, are you?

What are your thoughts?  What part can you play in turning down the digital noises and spam during your FB Experience?

If you are a marketer, would you recommend or participate in posting ads on other’s walls without their consent? Why?