Updated
Facebook, there's now an easy way to express your disapproval -- users can vote for or against the small "social" ads that appear on their sidebar. This addition should benefit users and advertisers. Despite being based on information in a user's profile, those sidebar ads are pretty hit-or-miss. The new feature means I can tell Facebook that I'd like to see fewer annoying relationship network ads featuring images of bikini-clad women, and more cool, creepy ads for Twin Peaks. It also gives companies another way to measure whether their ads are well-received and effective, which is particularly important at a time when everyone's still trying to figure out the social advertising business model.
Facebook hasn't made any official announcements about the feature, and right now all I see is a simple up-or-down voting interface. Rob Webb, who was probably the first blogger to write about this, has screenshots of a more detailed feedback system that asks why users liked or disliked a certain ad. I've emailed Facebook for clarification, but haven't heard back yet.
Update: And here's what Facebook spokesperson says:
Facebook regularly experiments with site changes in an effort to continually improve the user experience. The feedback tool for Facebook Ads that you noticed is currently available to a portion of site users. We are evaluating the response to the tool and considering whether to make it more broadly available.