"whopper sacrifice" news and stories

I imagine that I'm coming from a completely different position than most of you. When I read Bruce's account of Burger King launching a new Facebook application that allows users to banish their friends (with an alert that says they care more about Whoppers than their newly-deleted friend), I laughed. But I really don't like Facebook, from its refusal to delete information, to demanding users use their real names, to the troubles it causes in work and life, so it seemed quite appropriate way to deal with the rampant Facebook friendage I keep hearing people complain about.

Unfortunately, it's already dead. AdFreak reports that the application was suspended by Facebook. You can see the announcement on the Whopper Sacrifice page above, while Facebook says that it just needs to tweak the program for "privacy reasons." But here's the kicker -- the necessary tweak involves the alert. "We encourage creativity from developers and brands using Facebook Platform, but we also must ensure that applications follow users' expectations of privacy." Basically, the alert that a Whopper is more desirable than your dumped self.

Really? Is it that much of an issue? I bet most of those people re-friended their friends, or will soon, or did it in jest known by both parties. And those that didn't -- I think it is a telling statement of how Facebook obsessed people have become, and how silly it is to be out there in a way where people can demand to be added, fire you for what you write in it, and all that fun stuff. Privacy is already out of the window with the program, so what do they care?

Oh well, I guess you'll have to show your love for Whoppers in another way.

Just how much are your friends worth to you? Are they worth a million dollars? How about a thousand?

How about a hamburger?

The new Whopper Sacrifice application, available on Facebook, lets users exchange their friends for Whopper hamburgers. Basically, users cull through their lists of friends, picking out names that they don't recognize, people they are no longer in contact with, or relationships that have soured. They can then "excommunicate" their friends. For every ten friends that they banish, they get a coupon for a free Whopper.

The friends, on the other hand, get a notification stating that the user cares more about a Whopper than he or she cares about them. Unlike many Facebook applications, the burgers are real; moreover, unlike standard friendship dissolutions on the site, these are very open, very obvious, and sort of harsh.

This is probably the meanest thing that I've heard of in a long time, and it strikes me as completely morally repulsive. On the other hand, I've managed to pick up a lot of Facebook "friends" that I really don't recognize, and the siren song of the Burger King down the street is hard to ignore...