Good News for Consumer-Minded Facebook Users

I am used to having targeted ads sent my way. If I do a Goggle search for any reason, even for a blog post, my next few Yahoo page visits serve me with related ads. When I visit Amazon.com I get products recommended to me, some of which are interesting, and others which are way off base. Why? Because I use Amazon to research and buy gifts for my entire extended family, not just for myself. But If I were a Facebook user, my recommendations would become even more vast, because I would also receive recommendations based on what my Facebook friends are buying!

According to this NY Times article, an Amazon-Facebook alliance is in the works. “Now, Amazon shoppers who connect their Amazon and Facebook accounts transport their Facebook friends to Amazon — and can get recommendations from those friends on what to buy.” Wow! As if our society weren’t consumer-focused enough as it is. Now we can instantly find out what our friends ate for breakfast, monitor their moment-to-moment relationship statuses, and also find out what they think we should buy next! All without getting out of our pajamas or uttering a word.

Apparently, social shopping is the new market businesses are tapping into. “When shoppers connect their Amazon and Facebook accounts, they see their Facebook profile photo on Amazon’s site. They also see which of their Facebook friends have upcoming birthdays, and receive gift suggestions based on the music, books and movies those friends have said they like on Facebook and on their Amazon wish lists. At the same time, they see recommendations on what to buy for themselves, based on what their friends like.”

Maybe it’s because I don’t use Facebook. Or perhaps it’s because I’m not much of a casual shopper; I’m more of a know-what-you-need-and-get-in-and-get-out type of shopper. But I am having difficulty making the leap to where this information is useful, let alone desired. I don’t mind that Amazon makes recommendations based on past searches and purchases; it’s easy to ignore if it’s not relevant, and it rarely is.

I can’t imagine being inundated with reminders about birthdays for everyone I know and what they might like as a gift. Where’s the thoughtfulness in that? Part of what I love about buying a gift for someone is that I have to give it some thought. I make an effort to remember their birthday. I have to think about them, talk to them, and consider what they might like before I buy something. In effect, I have to maintain a personal relationship with them — something that Facebook seems to have the potential to minimize.

“For many people, shopping is as much about socializing as it is about buying something — a chance to run into neighbors at the farmers’ market or spend time with a friend at the mall.” Really? While I am a big fan of the farmers’ market, it never occurs to me that I might run into someone I know. And, in the middle of one of history’s most devastating recessions, are people really meeting up and shopping at the mall? Perhaps I am too practical. Or too busy. Or too broke. But I can’t help but be nostalgic for a time when we talked to each other, instead of digesting 140 character bursts from our virtual friends.