Like YouTube before them, Facebook has pulled the page of Unicorn Booty, “a social media platform that connects the community with gay-friendly businesses.” Unicorn Booty already experience a bout of web censorship from the big boys when YouTube yanked its adorable “California Gurls” gay parody before finally reinstating it. The company tells Queerty, “We have been on [Facebook] doing the same thing for 4 months. We have even spent tens of hundreds of dollars on Facebook ads! All we get is a lousy message with the subject line ‘Facebook Warning,’ except that it’s not a warning because they had already taken our page down!” Must be hard to be a social media platform when social media keeps exiling you?
Why Does Facebook Hate Unicorn Booty Like YouTube Once Did?
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Michael
Consider building your own web presence rather than riding on the backs of Facebook, EMI, YouTube, etc. Who knows how far you can go, but, with a bit of work, you too can achieve commercial success.
Nick Vivion
We definitely realize the perils of relying on other people’s networks. However, as a completely self-funded startup creating your own web presence is a tall order. Existing social networks offer an inexpensive and vibrant way to build a community of like-minded people from scratch.
Michael
@Nick Vivion: Understood, Nick, and in analogy, dogs are a free source of food for a like-minded community of fleas. As a for-profit concern, Facebook is not a free portal for your commercial exploits. Work harder or pay to play, or try a better mix of the two. Facebook was founded in a dorm room, and a bunch of hard work and capital followed. Try it their way, or come up with an original plan. At best, it’s disingenuous to use the sexuality card to garner support for your lack of effort.
Nick Vivion
@Michael: Lack of effort? Ouch. Do you know that I work 120 hour weeks? Do you know that we give 10% of our proceeds to a different LGBT non-profit every quarter? Do you know that we work from our living room?
What do you say to the hundreds of million of dollars that other small businesses spend on Facebook? Do you say: Go build your own network? Smart business owners use all the tools at their disposal to get results. We are no different, except that we are using these tools in a unique way.
We are not trying to be a gay social network. We are using social media, video and photos to connect the gay community with gay-friendly and diversity-minded businesses with the idea that supporting businesses that support us is the surest way to real and lasting change.
I worked against Prop 8 in CA, and I know what the anti-gay groups can do, especially with a 10% tithe. We are stepping up and doing something about it, and will be a part of the communities where people hang out.
And we’re not playing the gay card – we’re playing the WTF?!?! card. We’ve played by their rules, the least we can expect is that they do too.
BelleWolf
@Michael: Michael, it’s not a free portal, that’s why Unicorn Booty PAID MONEY to have their ads run on Facebook. Facebook was profiting on Unicorn Booty’s business structure. That’s a fact! Facebook took that money and ran. I am not surprised, this is the same company that chose to run its data centers on coal rather than renewable energy. We are still left wondering what happened…Maybe it’s simple gross negligence letting trolls flag and shut down the page because they would rather not see gay boys lip-sinking to Katy Perry? Trying really hard not to play the gay card here.
BelleWolf
*lip-synching 🙂
Michael
@BelleWolf: Great, an altogether different story! Now that you’ve advised Facebook has violated the the terms of a mutually agreed and binding legal contract, Nick and Company should waste no time in using the court system to seek the just remedy of specific performance. In addition to actual monetary damages, they may have cause for a punitive award plus court costs and attorney’s fees. I’m relieved to now know the facts, and wish same had been revealed sooner. Let me know how this works out.
Michael
@Nick Vivion: The fact of the matter, Nick, is that you as complainant, bear sole responsibility for proving that Facebook has violated your mutually agreed contract – not the other way around. If you have a case, I’m behind you all the way.
Peter
From a marketing standpoint, Facebook did you a massive favor by removing the page, thus giving you the vehicle for a gay outrage to foster the virility that you desperately need to grow your for-profit business.
I, for one, have had multiple exposures to the Unicorn Booty LLC in the last few days as a result of this ~controversy~.
Peter
OKAYYY so virility does not mean the state of being viral, as I had intended… hah! My bad.
Douglas
You got canned for spamming your “fans” with ads without their consent. Facebook and some users tend to get a bit upset about that sort of thing. Go figure.
Rand
As opposed to any number of other ads that run on Facebook based on demographics from individual pages? What Unicorn Booty has done is no different than any other company that has paid Facebook to run ads.
Nick Vivion
I don’t think Facebook took our page down because of us being gay – I think they took it down for the name ‘booty,’ and because any anti-gay group can report pages for content they do not like. Put those two thing together, and you have a page that gets removed for a Terms of Service violation that is tenuous at best.
Facebook needs to step up and have a 24-hour warning period so you can communicate with them BEFORE the takedown. That will save headaches all around, and is a simple, low-cost initiative. They also should be very careful to not take down pages of legit businesses – all they had to do was see that our page had Facebook ads attached, and then have this particular case reviewed by a human.
Overzealous algorithms couple with a complete lack of customer service does not a “open and connected” community make!
Nick Vivion
@Douglas: Douglas: actually in Facebook Terms of Service, Facebook states that they do not share any information that you have not made publicly available.
Therefore when a male says they are interested in males, or females in females, then you are self-identifying. Targeting ads according to this information is not SPAM, it’s called a Facebook advertising. That’s why small businesses love Facebook ads – they can target ads to relevant audiences and therefore save money and be more efficient with their very limited budgets.
Anyone that has reported a page for a targeted Facebook ad needs to realize that they are being targeted from the data they have chosen to make public. Check your privacy settings and adjust them accordingly.
We hate spam with a passion, we never spam and will never spam in the future.
Douglas
@Nick Vivion: I don’t see any connection. Fans want news, not ads. You got busted for sponging free ads to your fans, the number one No No on Facebook. It happens a bunch.
William
@Nick Vivion: I agree you didn’t get taken down for being gay. But “Booty” doesn’t seem to be a bother either. Facebook pops up 3,700 results with “Booty” in the name. “Booty Sweat,” “Booty Shorts,” and “Booty Pimps” are the top three, with huge followings. “Unicorn” is not far behind with 3,100 results. What else could be the problem then?
Peter
To Nick Vivion et al: I didn’t mean that you got shut down for being a gay and regret taking it in that direction accidentally. I more meant the outpouring of gay concern and support that can result from an incident even just related to being gay, like your site. Coverage on a gay blog, gay people sending positive info to their friends about it with breathless pleas to join a group or visit a page, naturally learning more about you and perhaps even contributing to your cause by number. It’s a positive thing, I hope!
Jones
This Unicorn Booty thing got turned down because it’s a monumental bore with these two guys hogging the videos and wanting to become the next big digital media thing. Facebook smelled a flop a mile away and pulled back.
Ben
I don’t get this. First the owner says he gets shut down because he’s gay, rallies the troops, then changes his mind? What does he sell, flip-flops?
Ben
Now the story is that a simple oversight caused the “problem” and they’re back. Much ado and blame about nothing, but the PR stunt worked, so, now I do get it. Whatever.
Michael
All those pleas and blame for nada. Not impressed, at all.