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GOOFLE AND REDFACEBOOK.....Here's Why I Think We Need To Think Twice About these Two!!!

By Paula Hathaway, REALTOR, LBA

Real Estate Agent with Douglas Elliman Real Estate 30HA0800896

January 30, 2011 12:41 AM

I just found that I had taken this post down before I had really let it run it's course! ..Probably because of the topic! So I am going to re-submit and hope that it goes through--I had many who responded before with many interesting comments. I would like to share it again with all of you:

Goofle and RedFaceBook....Here's why I think we need to think twice about these two!!! I wrote a Featured post in 2008 about the Pay Per Click problems with Google: http://activerain.com/blogsview/484697/the-google-click-scam-is-a-reality-

You have heard the stories, I am sure--you have heard about the legal problems as well, of that I am positive! Do you know anyone who has been "harmed" by them?...I mean really harmed? Well, there are degrees to being harmed but I think that if a company is in the business of "trust" of any kind, they need to be of the mind" "First Do no Harm" and therefore, there should be no room for ANYTHING that resembles taking advantage of, or just plain trying to cheat someone out of their money!

I am a very trusting individual and I gave both of them a real chance:

I joined FaceBook and started using the site to re-connect with old freinds and classmates.
I bought advertising on Google ADWORDS for my staging business in 2007 and in that, I was using PPC ads.

Both situations resulted in the following:

REDFACEBOOK:

My classmate from highschool in Birch Run Michigan, got in touch with me--re-connecting after many many years. I was so surprised and delighted that he contacted me on FaceBook and that he wrote on my wall how he thought I looked great "after all this time"--etc., ectc..
After several emails back and forth, I was made out to be a "Husband Theif" by another person on FB, probably his wife....she made a very public issue on the site about how I was taking her "new" husband away from her--she went into a rant on FB of the likes I have never seen before; AND she got all her girlfriends to participate in a smear of me and my good name ALL on this public site! I had to drop off the pages of FB because of the embarrasment---it was just like highschool all over again!!!

GOOFLE:

I always use Google to search for people and companies and their backgrounds. I have used it for years and felt very comfortable to do advertising on Google when I decided to open my new staging business in 2007. I selected an affordabe (to me) program in ADWORDS that included Pay Per Click offerings, where I could select the amount of money I wanted to spend per click---I chose the very affordable( I thought!) .50 cents per click....and waited to see my ad on the front page of Google, as they promised! I checked and checked again to see my ad and I never saw it! The next morning I checked my ad to see what was going on with it again and I saw there were 500 hits on my ad---$250.00 worth of clicks ---all on my ad which never came up once on Google when I searched for it! Now, I had used my debit card from my bank because I had made a determined decision to never use credit cards again in 2008. I tried to cancel my ad but every time I went to the website to cancel, it seems I ended up opening another PPC account. I had 3 accounts by the time I figured that out and then I was mad--I tried to get my money back but no such luck! I ended up with over $600 in PPC charges and I made a decision to cancel my bankcard.
I was threatened by Google to pay up or I would lose my Google Gmail account...sure enough---they shut it down and to this day I have no use of it. Many more threats followed and I called the BBB to see what I could do about it...."NOTHING" they said! "Nothing can be done with Google because they are so big." So I dropped it and never heard from them again.
Flash forward to Friday, November 26, 2010...I just got a legal notice from the US District Court of the Northern District of California with Google as the Defendant in a Class Action Lawsuit against them for their ADWORDS accounts and Google is denieing any wrong doing and without admitting any liability, they have entered into the agreement to "avoid any further expense, inconvenience and ..distraction of burdensome and protracted litagation...." You know the process.

So, you all know the story from this end--I get myself into the "thick of it" somehow and I don't like it one bit....I am even a little more than Paranoid now about the information they both have about me. :=(

ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANY STORIES THWY WANT TO SHARE ABOUT THESE TWO VERY POWERFUL SITES???

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Paula Hathaway, REALTOR, LBA

Douglas Elliman Real Estate - Southampton, NY

...A Local Expert in all The Hamptons

Charita: I'm glad I'm out of highschool too!!! I think those reasons I mention above were exactly why I had such a miserable time in HS!!!

Lenn: Glad you were able to successfully use ADWORDS---I am boggled by why I had so many hits when my ad wasn't even up on Google yet! As for FB--well you know how I feel about that one! :)

Jan 30, 2011 01:18 AM

Navona Hart

Century 21 Realty @ Home - Farmville, VA

Selling the Best Properties in Central Virginia

Paula,

Although people don't use Facebook cautiously enough, I feel that your issue wasn't really with Facebook, but with how people with no social skills interact on Facebook. I am amazed at how people interact out in the wide wide web! And, I don't even remember girls acting like that in highschool. I must have been sheltered.

Google ADWORDs that is stealing! Nothing else just stealing and wouldn't it be nice if they made it right with all of those wronged. They won't but it would be nice.

Jan 30, 2011 01:27 AM

Paula Hathaway, REALTOR, LBA

Douglas Elliman Real Estate - Southampton, NY

...A Local Expert in all The Hamptons

Navona: I agree; they may not have been so out in the open in HS---but believe me there were those who thought they were sooo "cool"---now it's repressive behavior that I think comes out on FB if unchecked! I often wonder how those women live in the real world in this day and age---do they have any friends? Maybe not.....as ADWORDS goes, I think they are getting their just desserts---maybe they will get put in their place by this suit?

Jan 30, 2011 01:46 AM

Joyce Herr

Prudential Lancaster Real Estate - Lancaster, PA

Lancaster County & Beyond

I haven't had issues to date on FB but do use the privacy settings to my benefit on my personal site.

Haven't used Google adwords because it didn't seem like a simple process and the cost/reward seemed more than I could afford.

Thanks for the post and as always buyer beware.

Jan 30, 2011 01:59 AM

Todd & Devona Garrigus

Garrigus Real Estate - Beaumont, CA

Broker / REALTORS®

Paula - That's insane. I used Facebook for a while, but found out its really not for me, but I never had any real issues with the site.

Jan 30, 2011 03:06 AM

Markita Woods NMLS#196099

Fairway Independent Mortgage Inc. - Woodbridge, VA

Queen of Mortgages - FHA, VA, Conventional, USDA

Wow, what a nightmare.....I have never used PPC and after this post I am sure I never will.

Jan 30, 2011 03:32 AM

Janet McCarthy

San Diego Homes Guide - San Diego, CA

Broker Associate

Thanks for sharing your problems. It's really helpful. FB fan pages are a much better deal for your company to get business. Try that with your company name. I know I would never have know about this information if I wasn't on AR. Thanks again. There are better days ahead

Jan 30, 2011 04:18 AM

Paula Hathaway, REALTOR, LBA

Douglas Elliman Real Estate - Southampton, NY

...A Local Expert in all The Hamptons

Joyce: You are very lucky that you have not had a bad experience---yet. I think the possiblity is always there with a site like FB....and the Google thing threw me--I still don't know what they had to gain by shutting me down on Gmail. It has complicated my life tremendously too.

Garrigus: You are lucky too--many people have never had an issue with FB either--- but if an dwhen you do it is very un-nerving! I could not stop worrying and thinking about what might come at me from those nuts who were bad-mouthing me...it was a nightmare!

Markita: Mighty wise decision--I can't wait to see how the class action lawsuite comes out. Of course many people lost alot more than I did but it's the idea that the huge monster of acompany like Google would go to the lengths that they did to get the "little guys" money!!!

Janet: Thanks for your support---I am very happy to share my experinces in order to save someone else from going through it!

Jan 30, 2011 06:33 AM

Mike Jaquish

Realty Arts - Cary, NC

919-880-2769 Cary, NC, Real Estate

Paula,

I forgot about this post, but you have me on the edge of my seat, both with the rerun dialogue and the fresh comments...

No PPC here, for sure.

And FaceBook? Meh.

Jan 30, 2011 08:43 AM

Tammie White, Broker

Franklin Homes Realty LLC - Franklin, TN

Franklin TN Homes for Sale

I had been warned very early on not to use PPC. Especially, if I didn't understand and implement all the control features. I am happy to say that my Google experience has been limited to my success here in regularly posting. I am being found by buyers and sellers. Somthing that I had no success at previously. Facebook can also be very tricky. It's important to set up the proper privacy settings. Obviously, this woman was not only immature but very insecure. I can see where this situation was very embarrassing for you. I probably would have done the same thing in this circumstance.

Jan 30, 2011 08:51 AM

Jane Peters

Home Jane Realty - Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles real estate concierge services

It is scary when something goes wrong with such big companies. There is no one you can talk to and you have no idea what buttons to press to right the wrongs. Sorry to hear you went through all this.

Jan 30, 2011 11:00 AM

Paula Hathaway, REALTOR, LBA

Douglas Elliman Real Estate - Southampton, NY

...A Local Expert in all The Hamptons

Mike: Mike, Mike, Mike---you absolutley make me crack up...:) Thanks for reading again and here's to RFB and Goofle!!!! (We will know we are all in trouble when we start getting bills from Goofle for PPC'ing on our own websites!)

Tammie: Thank you for understanding and explaining about the privacy settings--they manage to hide those, you know---something like the "fine print" to be found in many contracts we must sign. There always is a catch if we are not on top of it!

Jane: That's what I find with most big companies---they make it almost impossible to get to the right person--or any person for that matter!

Jan 30, 2011 12:47 PM

Tim Maitski

Atlanta Communities Real Estate Brokerage - Atlanta, GA

Truth, Excellence and a Good Deal

I'm curious as to why you took down the post in the first place. Do you normally take down posts once they "run their course"? I never thought of doing that.

Jan 30, 2011 01:33 PM

Paula Hathaway, REALTOR, LBA

Douglas Elliman Real Estate - Southampton, NY

...A Local Expert in all The Hamptons

Tim: I can't remember why I took it down--maybe to add illustrations?? Obviously, forgot to put it back up.....until today

Jan 30, 2011 02:35 PM

Pamela Seley

West Coast Realty Division - Murrieta, CA

Residential Real Estate Agent serving SW RivCo CA

Paula, glad you put this post backup. I was going to ask you what happened on your previous post when I read this one. So sorry that happened. I had a similar experience, but it didn't turn out as bad as yours.

I have discovered that communicating on the internet shows people to be the very mean people they truly are. They say things in comments they would never say to the person's face. They are cowards and hide behind their know-it-all snarky, mean-spirited comments because they are just mean horrible people and want to look like they are so cool by putting others down. Just like in high school, they never grew up.

Those so-called "friends" on fb would never have played that game to your face in real life, only in the fake virtual world of facebook. It's really pathetic. And to anyone who disagrees with me, I am judging facebook, and that's why I don't use it and never will.

I seriously doubt consumers are searching on facebook to buy or sell a home. How ridiculous is that? Really?? Consumers go to facebook to look up homes that are for sale??? No they go to google or a real estate website and type in what they are looking for. If anyone believes consumers go to facebook to buy a home they are either (a) lying or (b) delusional; or (c) both of the above.

Jan 30, 2011 06:01 PM

Paula Hathaway, REALTOR, LBA

Douglas Elliman Real Estate - Southampton, NY

...A Local Expert in all The Hamptons

Pamela: Thank you! You put it in the words that I have not been able to conjure up....the anonymity factor is where the difficulty comes into play. That is so astute on your part! The idea that someone can sit at a keyboard and put down insulting words without the fear of getting slapped or confronted is a very tempting activity for many--like the "Jerk" who used to make anonymous phone calls to stir up trouble, this "Jerk" has discovered FB and Twitter!!!

Jan 31, 2011 12:25 AM

Missy Caulk

Missy Caulk TEAM - Ann Arbor, MI

Savvy Realtor - Ann Arbor Real Estate

Paula, I am sorry you have had that experience on FB and Google Ad Words.

I have used Google Ad Words since 2005 and never had a problem. Their AD Words Dept is in Ann Arbor and there are plenty of support people you can call to adjust campaigns etc.

I hope it works out for you.

Jan 31, 2011 02:22 AM

Paula Hathaway, REALTOR, LBA

Douglas Elliman Real Estate - Southampton, NY

...A Local Expert in all The Hamptons

Missy--I think because I am here in Southampton, NY, it seems that there is no one here to talk to about what happened...I never did get a human at Google to talk to; they just shut down my email account!!!...and I never did see my ad which is the real irksome thing about the program to me! ...and I still had to pay for it! The Class Action Lawsuit will be settled soon and I may see a few pennies from that but other than that I am just out the money for an ad that never ran!

Jan 31, 2011 03:40 AM

Kerry Jenkins

Prime Properties - Crestline, CA

I enjoy facebook. I put pictures on for my friends and family to see since so many of them live out of state. I have never had a facebook fight, and if someone posted something weird or mean on my page, you can delete their post and them from your page.

Feb 01, 2011 06:17 PM

Paula Hathaway, REALTOR, LBA

Douglas Elliman Real Estate - Southampton, NY

...A Local Expert in all The Hamptons

Amy: That's what I did but there were more than a few people involved in the fiasco so I shut down my FB page completely....that was 3 years ago so now I have re-opended my page and I am very careful when I use!

Feb 02, 2011 04:07 AM