A friend of mine currently works at Starbucks, where (it would seem) some people are upset that the cost of a drink called the Tea Misto has increased. What do customers do when they are upset?

They enter the store and argue with the person who does not determine the pricing.

Here at the Big Bad Blog, we are generally fond of the if it feels good, do it philosophy. But sometimes you’re just being an ass to a person who is just doing their job.

Image is the Pouring Lamp by Yeongwoo Kim. Found at My Modern Metropolis.
Webcomic is Flimsy the Kitten, by Rachael Smith.

Facebook is rolling out a new ad campaign, using the things you add to the site.

Long-term readers of the blog are probably not surprised that we are not surprised. This is their business model, after all — your data and your access to your friends are what they sell; they do not offer the largest and most comprehensive social network for free.

This newest one uses their recent “Facebook places” — which anybody in their right mind has turned off — to submit ads to your friends based on your own updates. They look something like this:

Consumerist says this:

So that means you’re not only not getting paid for unwittingly shilling for a company — one you may not even like — but that you also have no say in how your content is being used.

They are wrong — this is how you pay for Facebook, which is not a free service offered out of kindness by Mr. Zuckerberg. And you can not give them your content, and move to Twitter (which is where the cool kids are, anyways).

Besides which, we at the Big Bad Blog cannot imagine it working very well. We are slightly disappointed that a Starbucks ad/logo did not manage to make it onto this update:

Top image is presumably an actual screengrab from Facebook. Found at The Consumerist.
Bottom image is definitely an actual screengrab from Facebook. I took it myself.

You may be aware of the big news in the UK. Something about Members of Parliament and expenses. As such, there is news every day about so-and-so’s ridiculous expenses. This is normally followed by an apology for these expenses. Sometimes there are even promises of repayment.

Not Anthony Steen, however. This principled MP expensed the cost for the care of 500 trees on his property. There is still no explanation of how owning his own private forest helped him to govern, but he does have an explanation for why people are upset: we are, apparently, jealous.

It’s Friday! Prank a coworker:

Social media marketing lesson: It can be hijacked. Just ask Starbucks.

Ghostbusters III is ready to start filming. While it will have the original cast, it sounds like they will take a backseat to a new team of younger ghost busters. This is sad to me — I’d rather see the old geezers forced to come out of retirement to save New York.

From Delusions of Grandeur: