Well, it's official.  Nothing is sacred to Facebook anymore - including your personal photos.

I theorized in a recent newspaper column that Facebook’s drive to an IPO would mean a greater need for revenue and, in turn, a greater abundance of ads incorporated into Facebook.  I just never thought they’d use our own photos to accomplish this!

You may have noticed a recent design change to Facebook photo albums.  In order to make the description and comments connected to a photo easier to read Facebook has added a side bar:

Of course, wouldn’t you know it, in many instances there is just enough room beneath these comments to include some wonderful sponsored ads:

So, now pictures of our children and photos of our vacations are perfect advertising billboards.  Unfortunately there are no settings that allow you to prevent Facebook ads from being incorporated wherever Facebook sees fit.

I can’t wait for phase 2… “Geoff Evans’ Timeline is brought to you by Starbucks.”

Geoff Evans - Founder, Social Media Coach