Facebook trying to hook me up with Piratecat

[Bullgrit]

My real-world alter ego has a Facebook page, but after setting it up, I've rarely done anything with it. In the past couple of days, I've logged onto it a few times to help my wife with something about her page (to see what her's looked like through mine).

Whenever I go to my FB friends list, FB shows me about 10 people it suggests I might want to be FB friends with. It's some people I recognize and some people I don't recognize. I assume the list is generated by looking at the FB friends of some of my FB friends.

Yesterday, on this not-really-random list was one of the few real names I recognized from here: Piratecat's alter ego -- I've seen Piratecat's picture at this site a few times over the years, and his FB picture matches.

I thought, "Oh, that's cool." And then went on about my other online business.

Then today, I went back to my FB page again to help my wife. (Two visits in two days is unusual for me -- I usually don't visit my FB twice in two weeks.) And again, Piratecat's real world name and pic popped up as a FB friend suggestion.

So FB is trying to hook us up. Since I don't think I have any reference to D&D on my FB page, I just found it interesting that this happened twice.

Bullgrit

[hafrogman]

Originally Posted by Bullgrit

Then today, I went back to my FB page again to help my wife. (Two visits in two days is unusual for me -- I usually don't visit my FB twice in two weeks.) And again, Piratecat's real world name and pic popped up as a FB friend suggestion.

So FB is trying to hook us up. Since I don't think I have any reference to D&D on my FB page, I just found it interesting that this happened twice.

Bullgrit

I'm pretty sure the friend suggestions only function on a friend of friend basis, so there's probably a link connecting you two. And if your friends list is fairly small (I presume, if you don't use it much), then the list of suggested people will be pretty small, too. He'll keep showing up now that the link has been made.

[Relique du Madde]

Don't fight destiny. You know you want him.

[Pbartender]

Originally Posted by hafrogman

I'm pretty sure the friend suggestions only function on a friend of friend basis, so there's probably a link connecting you two. And if your friends list is fairly small (I presume, if you don't use it much), then the list of suggested people will be pretty small, too. He'll keep showing up now that the link has been made.

I'm pretty sure it'll also take a look at the "contacts" list of the email address you use, and compare it against the listed email address of other Facebook users... If PC ever emailed Bullgrit -- even in the distant past -- or vice versa, that might also be the link.

[LightPhoenix]

I'm sure it's more than a two step friend-of-friend suggestion, because I get people suggested with whom I have no mutual friends listed on Facebook. In fact, several of them I've never heard of. I think it has to at least be three steps, possibly more. I would not be surprised if they also data-mine your profile so as to offer suggestions from schools and other information.

[hafrogman]

Originally Posted by Pbartender

I'm pretty sure it'll also take a look at the "contacts" list of the email address you use.

I forgot about that. It can do that, if you specifically give it permission. But I suppose, even if BG didn't tell it to, PC might have.

Originally Posted by LightPhoenix

I'm sure it's more than a two step friend-of-friend suggestion, because I get people suggested with whom I have no mutual friends listed on Facebook. In fact, several of them I've never heard of. I think it has to at least be three steps, possibly more. I would not be surprised if they also data-mine your profile so as to offer suggestions from schools and other information.

Odd, because of the 23 people it wants me to add as friends, 21 of them have at least one mutual friend, 1 is some I e-mailed once (I imagine she let them in her e-mail, as above), and only 1 is someone I can't immediately identify. Sadly, since their profile is blocked, I can't check if they have some other link to me.

Perhaps the algorithms it uses change on how many people it can find to put forward. If there aren't enough in a small circle, it goes deeper.

[El Mahdi]

It must be love!


YouTube - Piratecat's and I's romantic beach run

[jaerdaph]

At least it's not Geek2Geek trying to hook you up...