Like Farming: Gaming Facebook for Fans

Why do I dislike and debunk all those images that are gaming Facebook?

You know, the "If we get one million Likes, daddy will buy us a new puppy" or "Click Like if you hate cancer" or "Share this on your wall if you love your mother."

Many times these "pull on your heartstrings" images are produced by spammers or companies desperate to "go viral."

Rather than provide real value, insights, expertise, how to tips, and meaningful, sincere interactions, they grab a photo of a sick child on the internet, without permission or the awareness of the parents of that child, and try to guilt trip you to click Like to indicate you are praying for the kid.

Even though some good-hearted, sincere people share these images, to show they're patriotic or religious or in sympathy with the message, the image itself typically is produced by a dubious party. Why do they do it? To increase their Facebook Edgerank.

By tricking or enticing people to click Like and Share on an image, they boost their FB Edgerank. All the Likes and Shares are interpreted by Facebook as votes for their FB profile, as though they are grinding out really valuable content. As their FB Edgerank increases, Facebook distributes all their status updates to more people.

It's not authentic. And it's decreasing the overall effectiveness of business pages on Facebook. 

Here's what Augie Ray at ETB Experience: The Blog has to say about it.
Gerber deployed a baby photo contest in which those who wanted to vote for a friend's or relative's baby were required to become fans of the brand, regardless of whether they ever purchased a product from or had any relationship with Gerber. And Farmers Insurance gave away a freebie to Farmville players and set "the Guinness World Record for most 'likes' in a 24-hour period."

No one benefited from the fact marketers used inauthentic means to amass meaningless fans. Although people could have gotten true value out of knowing which brands their friends love, today none of us can tell if our friends' likes were motivated by true brand advocacy or a Mafia Wars freebie. 

Marketers lost, as well. Thanks to EdgeRank, Facebook's algorithm to keep users' news feeds as interesting and sticky as possible, brands that accumulated disinterested fans failed to break through to most users' news feeds, and thus few "fans" ever see, much less engage with, brand status updates.

The result is easy to see throughout Facebook--fan pages with huge fan counts but small ratios of them "talking about" the brands. Inauthentic fans cannot drive authentic engagement.

In desperate need of engagement to break through to fans' news feeds, many brands are opting to game Facebook's EdgeRank rather than build meaningful dialog--more inauthentic tactics piled upon inauthentic tactics. 

Why take the long, hard, authentic route of engaging people in a conversation about your product, service, brand or mission (or the things your customers really care about) when you can gather likes, replies and shares by posting pictures of puppy dogs or "Keep Calm" posters?

It is difficult, for example, to get people talking about insurance, risk and financial security, so Progressive's Flo rarely even tries; instead, she shares things like a picture of an ear of corn on a unicycle. (Oh, that Flo--it's a unicorn!) Other brands beg people to "like" if they believe one thing or "share" if they believe another. 

One dead giveaway that the originator of the image is an insincere spammer, preying on the emotions of nice people, is seen when you visit their Facebook profile page. Often, these pages are full of similar images. "Click Like if you believe this Down syndrome girl is beautiful in her own way" and "Share this if you support the troops" -- on and on they go.

Often the perpetrators are photography studios, PR companies, or ad agencies -- professionals who deal with sentimental images and emotional appeals all the time. How much do you want to bet that they're also grinding out tons of sparkly inspirational quotes?

If you want to connect with people on social media for business purposes, stick to the core values of authenticity, sincerity, and altruism. Share your industry expertise. Provide product selection tips, practical advice, commentary on news events that relate to your field.

Become the top of mind choice by continuously demonstrating that your company is a thought leader.

Be truly benevolent, without exploiting the photo of a child. Interact with other online community members in a kind and caring manner, posting comments that encourage and inspire people. The path of integrity and honesty will pay off in the long run, long after the spammers and hoaxers have vanished.

Peoria's Catholic High Schools: 150 years of Memories and Tradition

Peoria's Catholic community celebrates 150 years of high school education in 2013.

The pride and tradition established through years has been passed down for four or five generations now. Even if you went to Spalding Institute, the Academy of Our Lady, Bergan High School or Peoria Notre Dame, graduates feel the sense of unity of being fortunate enough to have had the academic opportunities of private education, the network of life-long unshakable friendships, and religious instruction that shaped one's inner peace and morality.

Events to commemorate the 150th birthday begin Monday.

Academy of Our Lady, circa 1870Below is a timeline tracing the history of Catholic high schools in Peoria.

April 19, 1863: Father Abram Ryan, pastor of St. Mary's Church, escorts seven Sisters of the Order of St. Joseph of Carondelet in St. Louis, to Peoria to establish a Catholic school for girls.

Traveling with them was Matthew Henebery, a prominent Peoria whiskey distiller who funded the new school with 11 other men who earned the nickname "the Loyal Sons."

Mother Mary Teresa became the first superior. She supervised the purchase of a two-room frame house on Jefferson Street between Hancock and Bryan.

April 1864: The school was moved to a larger house at 205 N. Madison between Fayette and Hamilton.

September 1870: A large Parisian-style boarding school that could house 100 girls and 16 sisters was built at the corner of Madison and Bryan.

The four-story building cost $35,000. Both Catholic and non-Catholic girls from the very finest families in Peoria attended with tuition being $15.00 a month.

January 1874: The official name of the girl's school became "The Academy of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart." The studies list included English, rhetoric, natural philosophy, literature, geology, government, zoology, mythology, botany, astronomy, mental philosophy, chemistry, French, German, Spanish, music and the arts.

Spalding High School, 1901May 23, 1877: Peorians welcome their newly consecrated bishop, John Lancaster Spalding, with a joyous reception in the study hall of the Academy of Our Lady.

1898 – September 1901: Archbishop John Lancaster Spalding, the first Bishop of Peoria, donated his personal wealth to establish a Catholic high school for boys. He purchased the corner of Jackson and Madison from Alexander and Lucie Tyng, noted Peoria education activists.

Originally called "St. Mary's Academy," public pressure to use the Spalding name mounted. The bishop relented to the name "Spalding Institute" in honor of his late brother, Fr. Ben Spalding.

The final cost of the Flemish Renaissance-style limestone building was over $60,000. Spalding opened its doors in September 1901 to 60 boys and three faculty members.

September 1903: Spalding Institute fields its first football team. The nickname was not "the Fighting Irish" but "the Purple."

June 13, 1929: A new addition to the Academy was dedicated by Bishop Edmund Dunne, the second Bishop of Peoria.

The new building was designed in the more American art deco style with 22 new classrooms, a chapel, offices, library, auditorium, bookstore, and gymnasium. The Sisters were especially proud of the new science laboratories considered the best in the Midwest.

Acadmey of Our Lady addition, 1929April 1947: Construction is completed on 12 large new classrooms and science laboratories built adjacent to the original school. It is named "the Schlarman Annex" after Bishop Joseph H. Schlarman, who provided the funding.

Feb. 8, 1953: Bishop William E. Cousins blessed and presented to Peoria its largest and newest high school gymnasium. The new Spalding gym cost $750,000 and its sleek modern design stood in sharp contrast to the very European-styled main building.

Seating for 3,200 fans meant the massive hardwood basketball floors and modern scoreboards could be enjoyed for years to come. The lower level held the new cafeteria, which doubled as the popular Catholic Youth Center.

September 1957: The Academy erected a new convent on Jackson Avenue. It had two new large classrooms and a popular student lounge.

July 1962: The ground-breaking ceremony was held at Sheridan Road and Glen Avenue for a new, 28-acre northside Peoria Catholic high school.

September 1963: The freshman class "pioneers" of the new Bergan High School were enrolled with other grades being added over the next three years.

The school name honored Gerald T. Bergan, Archbishop of Omaha, the first native-born Peorian to become a bishop.

Spalding Gymnasium, 1953April 5, 1964: Bishop John B. Franz of Peoria led the grand procession to dedicate the new Bergan High School with much fanfare.

The keynote address was given by Archbishop Gerald Bergan, who remembered fondly his days at Spalding Institute and how it shaped his life.

September 1973: The two downtown Peoria schools merged into one administrative and academic unit to become the Academy of Our Lady/Spalding Institute.

June 1980: The section of Madison Street that separated the Academy and Spalding was permanently closed for the safety of the hundreds of students that cross for classes everyday.

Oct. 30, 1987: Bishop Edward O'Rourke celebrated the 125th anniversary of Catholic education in Peoria by dedicating the new Madison Street mall with refurbished walkways, green trees, bushes, and floral beds.

Fr. Raymond Novacek's 1963 "Madonna & Child" sculpture was refurbished and became the central focal point of this urban pocket park.

Bergan High School, now Peoria Notre Dame, 1963March 1988: The Peoria Area Pastors Board, under the leadership of Bishop Edward O'Rourke and Coadjutor Bishop John Myers, made the decision to strengthen Catholic high school education for the future by merging the Academy of Our Lady/Spalding Institute and Bergan High School. The 40-acre north campus was chosen over the downtown facilities.

Students voted for the new school to be named "Peoria Notre Dame."

Feb. 24, 2006: Peoria Notre Dame plays the last game in the old Spalding gym in front of 2,000 fans. Former Peoria Mayor Jim Maloof rallied the crowd with school spirit songs. The building was razed to allow construction of the new Sheen Pastoral Center.

Sept. 28, 2012: Peoria Bishop Daniel R. Jenky led the groundbreaking ceremony for a new Peoria Notre Dame sports complex.

Located on 71.5 acres at Willow Knolls and Allen Road, the new stadium will accommodate football, soccer and track with seating for more than 3,000. Two baseball fields, two softball fields, tennis courts, and practice fields will surround the stadium. The $6.4 million complex is expected to open in 2014.

Future plans on the site include a new high school.

Movie review: '42' worth seeing for historic value

(128 minutes, Rated PG-13 for adult situations and language.)

(6 of 10 stars)

I must admit to the reader that I generally do not like baseball movies and only see them after careful research and much discretion.

Please do not misunderstand. I am a baseball nut. I played years beyond college and fanatically follow my favorite team (no, I won't share which). I can explain with extraordinary detail baseball strategies such as the double steal, the bunt-and-run, and the Ted Williams shift (and yes, generally, I bore the hell out of my friends).

It is because of this passion and understanding of the game that generally cause me to avoid baseball movies. The absurdity of casting someone as bad as Tim Robbins in "Bull Durham" kept it from being in my top five all-time baseball movies (mind you, his acting was fine but he didn't look like or perform like an athlete and the baseball scenes were inanely bad.)

So, I went into "42" this opening weekend with a bit of trepidation. Being the baseball (minor) historian that I am, there is much to admire about the man Jackie Robinson — he's a true 20th century American hero. What scared me, beyond the potential for bad baseball scenes, was the question whether or not they would find the right plot point; whether this would be a true biopic of Jackie Robinson's life and the complexity that was his experience as the first African-American baseball player or a blatant hack-job in order to simply sell tickets.

The verdict? The moviemakers did a pretty okay job.

For you non-baseball people, I will assume that you know Jack Roosevelt Robinson was the first black baseball player to play in the segregated Major Leagues in 1947 and that it was a watershed moment in the civil rights movement in the United States. Robinson was a remarkable man by several measures, but this movie solely revolves around his signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers until the end of his first year in the major leagues.

Written and directed by Brian Helgeland, who has written several very good screenplays including "Mystic River" and "L.A. Confidential," "42" does a very nice, however linear, job of capturing the history of Robinson from his initial signing with the Dodgers in 1945 until the end of the 1947 (his first with the Dodgers) season.

While I was impressed with the baseball scenes (whew!) and the filmmakers desire not to exaggerate history, I was disappointed that the film did not provide just a little more detail or depth to the man. Robinson was an amazing four-sport athlete at UCLA who bravely served his country as an officer in World War II. He had a very successful business career after retirement and did a great deal for the civil rights movement, but none of this was seen.

Moreover, Rachel Robinson, Jackie's wife (very well played by the stunning Nicole Beharie) was a woman of extraordinary strength and intellect who founded the Jackie Robinson Foundation after his death in 1972. That organization has sent thousands of young African-Americans to college in more than 40 years. While the relationship between the two was accurately depicted as the soul mates they were, the stress of the 1947 season on their relationship was not even remotely explored.

For years, Spike Lee had been trying to make a sweeping biopic of Jackie Robinson's life (he could never get the financial backing) and part of me wonders how good that movie might have been.

Robinson is played remarkably well by Chadwick Boseman, who has solely done television work to this point in his career. Boseman just looks like a baseball player with a strong, lithe body and a boyish face, and he does a nice job of capturing the depth and essence of Robinson, albeit limited by the script. He is expressive with his eyes, and understands well the complexity of the character.

Ever more impressive is the performance Harrison Ford turned in as Branch Rickey, who plays the general manager and part-owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers who was primarily responsible for "the great experiment," as it was called at the time.

By 1947, Rickey was a living legend in the world of baseball. He is credited with the development of the modern-day minor league system and was responsible for the St. Louis Cardinals dominating the National League for most of the 1930s and 1940s (and subsequently for the Dodgers in the late 1940s and early 1950s). He was also a very religious man who was widely respected as "Mr. Rickey."

Harrison Ford turns in a performance that is Oscar-worthy. The man who gave life to Han Solo and Indiana Jones has only one other nomination in his career ("Witness"), but his performance of Rickey, replete with the cigar-smoking and bushy eyebrows, was astonishing. Ford vividly captures the true essence of a very complex man.

Also noteworthy were Alan Tudyk as the Philadelphia Phillies' manager who took racist bench jockeying to a level simply unfathomable in today's world (but truly did happen as depicted). The scene needs to be seen to be believed and I cannot imagine how horrid it must have been for all the actors to film.

On a lighter note, John C. McGinley was delightful as Red Barber, the Dodger's Hall of Fame announcer, and provided a wonderful background to the action on the screen. It made me realize how much I miss the Harry Carays and Jack Bucks of the world.

The film is exceptionally well-shot and you could tell great effort was used in finding proper sets that represented the time accurately. Moreover, the director and cinematographer made exceptional use of Computer Generated Imagery to give life to baseball stadiums that are now long gone. I found myself wanting more screen time for the stadiums and the character they offered then instead of the Camden Yard knock-offs that we see today.

Overall, while enjoyable, the movie left me wanting more. Racial integration into baseball was a complex issue and none of these inaugural baseball players wanted the notoriety that being the first African-Americans in the Major Leagues brought. They simply wanted what every other American kid wanted —to play baseball on the world's greatest stage. That reality was lost on the filmmakers.

It is because of people like Jackie Robinson that we got to marvel at the talents of athletes such as Henry Aaron, Willie Mays and Derek Jeter. To reaffirm that reality in your mind makes seeing this movie worthwhile and a great opportunity to take the younger generation and educate them about the world that was — and thankfully is no longer.

I give it 6 of 10 stars.

Baseball, BBQs and Baby Ducks: Our Favorite Things about Spring

It’s officially (technically?) spring here in Peoria and as we sit at The Peorian offices gazing out our windows at life renewing itself once again, two things leap to the forefront of our thoughts. First is that undeniable, aching desire to get outside and DO SOMETHING. Second is how badly these windows need to be cleaned.* So in the spirit of this annual return to bloom, we asked our murder of writers what spring means to them. Enjoy!

* Seriously, there's a tremendous amount of build up on these windows.

Paul Gordon
Spring means baseball to me. I always loved baseball, but I was not good at it. I got beaned by a 14-year-old when I was nine and was afraid of the ball ever since. But I still followed the game closely and it was easy to become a Cardinal fan because of one of my fondest memories – sitting on the front porch with my Dad, listening to Jack Buck and Harry Caray call the games on KMOX, which were carried on the local station in my hometown of Vincennes, Ind., which is about three hours due east of St. Louis. Games weren’t televised back then like they are now. We usually could see one game a week on TV, on Saturday afternoons with Curt Gowdy and Tony Kubek calling the action. But it was the Cardinals we followed most, which was easy with Harry Caray because he had so much fun with it, which meant he was fun to listen to. Remember how he called a home run? Or him singing, “The Cardinals are coming, tra la la la la/The Cardinals are coming, tra la la la la?”  My Dad thought he was a nut but he liked him, too.

Stuart Clubb
My favorite thing about the start of the season is the air changing around us. The air becomes thicker with humidity, pollen, the smell of BBQ, sounds of nature returning, motorcycles and all the other smells and sounds that go away when cold weather hits. Everything feels closer, more saturated. I recorded this about 10 months ago on a perfectly pleasant night while camping. It has a lot of layers to it: a nearby stream, frogs, crickets and the crackling and popping of a fire. It's a shame it only lasts a few months out of the year, but that's probably why it’s special to me too. So yes, I am definitely looking forward to the next few months and the bloom of spring.

Terry Towery
I have to admit, I'm an autumn kind of guy most of the time. There's something about football and hot chili and caramel apples that just kind of trips my trigger. That said there's a lot to love about spring, too.

Like, for instance, baseball. And warmer weather. And baseball. And mowing the...uh, baseball. I like baseball. No. Not true. I LOVE baseball.

Baseball is, cliché or not, a perfect metaphor for life itself. It starts out in the budding infancy of spring, so hopeful, so optimistic, so full of promise. And then it slowly, and I mean S-L-O-W-L-Y, winds its way forward through a series of alternately heartbreaking and wonderful twists and turns. It becomes most interesting just when it gets hottest then it begins to cool toward an ending that, while generally predictable, can also surprise us, delight us, or sometimes terrify us. And then it ends, abruptly for some, and almost always too soon.

But spring. That's when it starts, isn't it? That's when everything is new and covered in dew. When everything that counts is still in front of us, when nothing can go truly wrong.

Spring. When all things are possible.  

Kevin Kizer
Thinking about spring takes me back to my younger days and something that truly embodied the start of the warmer months: the return of the mallard ducks to the backyard of my childhood home.

I lived on a quiet cul-de-sac in Mishawaka, Ind., just across the street from where the broad and murky St. Joe River made its bend south (hence, the city of South Bend). Our backyard was home to many a woodland critter including a pair of mallard ducks who would make their nest nearby. They were attracted to our backyard undoubtedly because of its proximity to the river and because it was a haven for wildlife, complete with bird feeders, bird baths and plenty of ground cover for protection from predators.

After noticing their presence, we started feeding the ducks bread, which they greedily devoured and got used to – so much so that nearly every morning they would be waiting on the step leading from our patio to our house. As soon as I opened the curtains they would waddle away a few feet, quacking angrily, and then return to where I sat on the step holding their morning victuals. They became so used to my presence that the “mama duck” would take the bread from my hand (while never taking an eye off me). The “papa” never came that close; I had to toss strips of bread to where he stood a few feet away ever watchful over his mate.

Soon after their arrival, my mother would put out a shallow gray planter tray filled with water (since the ducks couldn’t reach the bird bath). We thought they would just drink from the tray. Instead, the mama duck would climb in and waddle around in the water, again, with her mate attentively waiting nearby. Later in the summer when their brood had hatched, the young ducklings would spend their days frolicking in the water-filled tray (which was the most wonderful thing for an animal-loving kid to experience), until they were big enough to make the trek across the dangerous street to the St. Joe River. We remained by their side providing a waterfowl escort, stopping traffic and making sure they made it safely down to the water’s edge. And I can proudly say that, on my watch, we never lost one duckling along the way.

Shaun Taylor
To me, spring is new beginnings. Birds singing. Kids playing outside, reinvigorated by the sun's golden rays. As an April baby (April 26th), the arrival of spring also lets me know that I've been blessed with another wonderful year no matter how many ups and downs I've experienced along the way. In the end, to me spring is like my favorite day, Thursday.  It lets you know that the best part of the year is right around the corner.  Just like Thursday let's you know it's almost time for the weekend!

Steven Streight
In the spring, I like starting my organic herb and flower gardens, doing some landscaping, and walking greater distances for health – and I recently bought a brand new pair of sneakers for long distance walking.

Matt Richmond
It's not #%!&ing spring! There's still snow on the ground up here.* When I do go outdoors, it will be to disassemble the snow rake. I guess I look forward to that.
*EDITOR’S NOTE: Matt is currently living in the upper reaches of Michigan before he moves out to sunny LA in a couple of months.