This morning a girlfriend of mine posted a message on my Facebook wall telling me she saw a photo of me in a Facebook ad for preschool teachers. I was like “Whaaaaaa?”. She tried to send it to me but eventually I found it on my own. As you can see, it’s a photo of me and Nia Long from Black Girls Rock! Not sure what that has to do with teaching, and more importantly I can’t believe they just ganked one of my pics and used it for their ad.
But then I started thinking: There have been times where I’ve seen very familiar faces in some of those dating ads, but I just figured the person just looked a LOT like someone I know. Now I’m wondering if my friends weren’t really in those ads. A friend said she saw her married best friend in a single’s ad once… In any other situation using my likeness or especially Nia’s likeness to advertise a product or service would be a prosecutable offense but I’m pretty sure I agreed to it in all the FB small print in the terms and conditions.
The Internet can really be a scary place. I love how I can find just about anything online, but for everyone who uses the Web for good, there’s a person (or 10) who uses it for evil. So glad I’ve never posted any inappropriate photos online anywhere. This particular ad is harmless, but I can only imagine how many unauthorized images of me might have been manipulated and posted around the Web. No one has the right to misrepresent me or make money off my likeness. But if I find out I’m a big star in Japan or something, maybe I wouldn’t be too mad at that.
