The Perils of Advertising Google+ on Facebook

Sometimes when you get too bold the powers that be give you a slap across the face. The powers that be in this case are the folks at Facebook, who taught one developer who placed a series of Google+ ads on Facebook a serious lesson. App developer Michael Lee Johnson wanted more people to add him on Google+, so he decided to create an ad and put it on Facebook. The ad featured a headshot of the developer and text asking people to join his Google+ circles.

The ad reads: "If you’re lucky enough to have a Google+ account, add Michael Lee Johnson, Internet Geek, App Developer, Technological Virtuoso."

But what Johnson did not know was that his ad violated Facebook's terms of service. As a result Facebook deleted the pro-Google+ ad and then proceeded to delete the rest of his ad campaigns. Later the social network informed the young developer of the policy violation. Johnson lamented on Google+ about what had happened to him:

"I recently ran a Google+ advertisement on Facebook that got all of my campaigns suspended. – Great."

Right or wrong, Johnson's situation should serve as a cautionary tale for those that want to advertise non-Facebook services such as Google+ in an ad. It could get you kicked off Facebook.

Source: TechCrunch, image via.