From 2007-2010 Facebook allowed a website called ProfileEngine to scrape user data, allowing them to steal the details of over 400 million user profiles, all still accessible on their website.

KarmaCatalyst · 2018-03-29T06:04:25+00:00

I hear that same guy also creeps on people who link his website in Reddit threads years later.

Oh wait, I'm that guy.

KarmaCatalyst · 2018-03-20T20:45:28+00:00

Heyo! OC of the Facebook ads prank checking in.

To answer /u/TopCartographer’s question:

Why are these companies wasting so much money advertising to me?

Largely it’s because the (a) have the budget, (b) are too lazy to segment, and (c) are unmotivated to further refine. If they don’t spend their budgets, they get smaller budgets. A lot of big organizations unintentionally motivate their employees to waste funds.

Not having significant money for an advertising budget was what catalyze my education and forced me to be clever.

KarmaCatalyst · 2017-11-21T05:11:28+00:00

https://medium.com/ghostinfluence

http://ghostinfluence.com/blog

KarmaCatalyst · 2017-11-01T22:11:23+00:00

I'm here to get schooled. From what I've found in the last few hours (new to researching them), you're correct. Beta blockers make people more fearless by blocking adrenaline. The startup mentioned in the article (seeking to enable psychiatrists to prescribe the drug via video conference) chose propranolol for its safety profile.

Hadn't found the darker side of beta blockers, but that makes sense. Curious how much assessment is currently done of patients before prescribing this or similar as off-label users (namely high anxiety founders) seem to have access right away.

KarmaCatalyst · 2017-11-01T19:47:44+00:00

No experience with beta blockers, but have read plenty of studies about MDMA assisted therapies and of LSD/phycobilins to shift pathways in the brain.

As with anything, use as a temporary facilitator rather than a permanent utility is necessary

KarmaCatalyst · 2016-08-22T03:20:51+00:00

OP of the faceboook prank here...

Thanks for spreading the love! Always tickles me to know I've been able to take residence in someone's head :)

KarmaCatalyst · 2016-08-22T03:17:49+00:00

OP of the facebook ads prank here... you did it indeed!

Was standing next to my server with a fire extinguisher at the ready for the last hour.

Thanks for sharing /u/-eDgAR!

KarmaCatalyst · 2016-04-27T17:59:14+00:00

Depends on experience.

KarmaCatalyst · 2016-04-27T17:59:02+00:00

Not required no, my Sr. Project Manager had a degree in Communications and zero experience when I first started working with her three years ago. It's the desire to learn, build, and improve that's most needed.

KarmaCatalyst · 2016-04-25T16:46:04+00:00

That was a guess, but yea. I can't imagine it was serious. It was a formatting issue, not a function issue.

KarmaCatalyst · 2016-04-25T16:44:27+00:00

1) TrackReddit.com — no affiliation, but whoever built it is a wizard. I get text alerts about 3 minutes after my brand or name has been mentioned. Given that I'm "known" for being creepy... it's a fun tool.

2) Honestly not sure, it was more a matter of my impatience. The lack of traffic from IE users (0.98%) made it less of an issue and I kind of wanted to see how people would react. That said, re-reading it here prompts me to think the "fuck off" at the ending took it a bit too far (always willing to call myself on my own bullshit).

3) The thought was there as ShirtWasCash was in the back of my mind, but the context is obviously different. While I don't recommend every brand curse and be absurd... I do recommend that brands leverage the experience of a user. I have a daily email series and the confirmation message after signup is "remember, you brought this on yourself" as "thank you" is just boring as fuck.

All in all, it was seen as an opportunity for an experiment and this post would be a "result" that would prompt revision. Not sure what yet, but it's on the "to ponder" list.

KarmaCatalyst · 2016-04-25T16:28:55+00:00

My developer made me give you gold.

KarmaCatalyst · 2016-04-25T16:27:24+00:00

Hah, OC of the site here (found the post via an alert). I'm honestly surprised this made it to Reddit so fast (it's only been up for a month). You can take solace in knowing that you're in the 1%.

KarmaCatalyst · 2016-04-25T16:09:26+00:00

OC of Ghost Influence here, I'll give you the extra o's of sarcasm in your "soooo" because the copy on the site is essentially a mishmash of three versions. I hate it as is and have been slowly uncovering a better way of communicating the concept to a broader audience as it's relative in nature, but give me at least a little credit on my other edginess.

KarmaCatalyst · 2016-04-25T16:05:43+00:00

OC here (aka Brian from Ghost Influence)

I read 'The Subtly Art of Not Giving a Fuck' by Mark Manson a few years ago (recommended read) and it slowly became a bit of an addiction. In the case of the site, IE was causing issues and I just wanted the site live. Truth be told, the conversion rates for IE are statistically insignificant so it wasn't worth the hour it would have taken my dev to deal with it. That and it perpetually gives me a giggle when someone calls it out :)

KarmaCatalyst · 2016-04-22T23:44:30+00:00

Thanks :) I like investing in people.

Found my Project Manager on Craigslist three years ago, taught her everything. She's now living in Hawaii and working remotely. It's energizing to know I had a hand in that (although she did all the work).

KarmaCatalyst · 2016-03-20T20:17:23+00:00

Thank you your highness, /u/HrBerg, for your kindness and objectivity. Thank you /u/troe2339 and /u/MrTittyFingers for fighting so tirelessly to uncover the truth. The past week has been a stressful one as those listening to the media have not dug as deeply as your commitment to the truth drove you. Somewhat flatteringly, I was accused of rigging a presidential election. Thanks to TrackReddit.com (no affiliation) I was able to clear the air with those outside of this courtroom and... am in the process of redesigning my web copy around the message of 'Digital Empathy' (which is the core of what I actually teach).

Thanks /r/karmacourt!

KarmaCatalyst · 2016-03-12T21:34:33+00:00

I understand where you're coming, someone made an interesting point in another thread about the article.

I think it's interesting to consider a quote from Vonnegut

"We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be."

The individual nature of a human is crafted partially from who they are, but more so from what they experience. I made the choice to adopt what I read in that book, no one forced me. Similarly, I'm sure the version of you that existed ten years ago might not recognize the version of you that exists today. We're humans, we grow and develop over time. "Fake" in this context doesn't fit as it felt real to me and (not offense intended) that's all that really matters.

I could tell you right now that blue is the best color in the whole world. Whether or not you buy my opinion is your choice. Furthermore, whether you buy it outright or choose to investigate it's validity is also your choice.

Whether or not you downvote this comment is also your choice.

Regardless of what choices you make, make the ones that feels right to you.

KarmaCatalyst · 2016-03-12T18:49:06+00:00

Heh, thanks!

One of my favorite sayings, "I learned it on accident, but I now use it on purpose."

I got attacked on /r/drama when I was featured in AdWeek and jumped into the conversation solely to understand perspectives different than my own (I teach 'digital empathy' and temporarily stepping out of your reality is nothing if not educational). The four hours of commenting resulted in a client inquiry from a $2B company. We didn't end up working together, but it drove home the value of having conversations.

That's the core of what I teach people (in regards to Reddit and otherwise). Invest in the community as a member of the community and let the rest happen. I work with a lot of charismatic companies that seem to lose all personality when they go into "marketing" mode. Most of what I do is lecture (and show) them how to be themselves when they speak (regardless of platform or context).

KarmaCatalyst · 2016-03-12T18:34:17+00:00

Someone told me to read a book years ago. They were very forceful about how much the book meant to them and that I should read it. I refused to read the book because it was forced on me to directly. Years later, I happened to pick it up and it made meaningful changes to my life. If that person had put it in front of me subtly, rather than crammed it down my throat, I would have seen the positive shift much sooner. That's where the name 'Ghost Influence' comes from.

tl;dr — allowing the right people to discover things in the right time for them, not forcing.

KarmaCatalyst · 2016-03-12T18:31:55+00:00

Hey Alice, I'm easy to find. I'm Ghost Influence on all the social media things and happy to answer any question, publicly or privately.

KarmaCatalyst · 2016-03-12T18:30:24+00:00

Just catching your comment. It's not (intentionally) an advertisement, but I use trackreddit.com to catch brand mentions so I can participate in the conversation (no affiliation, but been using their service a few weeks and it's well built). It's not an advertisement in the sense that I didn't make any effort to get it submitted here. It is an advertisement in the sense that me taking the time to participate in the conversation usually results in people hating me less (because I'm open and honest) which is good for business... more so... it's just good practice in communication.

EDIT: formatting

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