Michael Dell Confirmed You as a Friend on Facebook

I’ve never been one to pursue the celebrity “friend” or MySpace “add” from a random band that played Paddy’s Irish Pub on Thursday or my favorite WWE Diva. I like to believe that it is the human elements that keep social networking sites real and interesting. Linking to political campaigns, celebretards and corporate brands with teams of marketing and PR people behind them remind only that these sites are being exploited for branding a la Tila Tequila. Don’t get me wrong, it’s brilliant, but frustrating at the same time. Maybe because I didn’t think of it first.

This has been happening on MySpace for some time. Imagine my amazement years ago when I discovered my sister was connected to Dr. Marlena Evans. I was certain she was being extorted by someone posing as Deidre Hall online seeking money to pay for emergency cosmetic surgery so she could keep her contract with NBC, only to find it was (somewhat) legit page run by her publicist.

I’ve noticed this phenomenon creeping into Facebook lately and who should come up in the “People you may Know” module today but Michael Dell. Granted, I am “friends” with a number of folks who would have good reason to be connected with Mr. Dell, so I wasn’t completely surprised. I still thought it smelled of a viral marketing ploy, but I gave it a shot for research sake and sent him a friend request. For a CEO of a global business, Michael really stays on top of his Facebook requests. I had a confirmation within minutes. Perhaps he’s just been itching to talk with Stephen Baker or Harry McCracken and hoping I can hook him up.

Marketing ploy or not, I was impressed with his profile. It felt like I was reconnecting with an old friend. It had his high school info, family photos, sports affiliations, a where I’ve been map and wall messages with dumb videos, posts from his kids on Father’s day and notes from actual Dell employees. I know a PR or marketing team very likely set up the profile in an effort to influence my feelings on Dell and the company. I’m encouraged to see how it has taken on life beyond the façade though and somewhat “real” communication.