Last week an Australian company, USocial, launched a new offering to the social media world. For $177.30 you can purchase a 1,000-member group of “targeted” Fans for your company’s Facebook Fan Page, up to 10,000 fans. However, by “targeted” USocial merely means that these fans reside in the country you do business in and/or are affiliated with your industry or interest group.

Suffice it to say, USocial missed the mark. The entire purpose of social media is to create and strengthen relationships. How can a bond exist between an organization and 1,000 Fans who have simply been “purchased”? It’s even questionable whether the Fans are actual people or automated accounts that would be worthless to your business. You can’t buy relationships – at least not the useful kind.

From there, the facts behind USocial get even fuzzier. Although USocial argues that your bulk purchase of Fans will be targeted, their ability to target is extremely limited. If your brand’s audience is a specific demographic in Northeast Kansas, obtaining 1,000 Fans from across the United States is nearly useless. Futhermore, USocial claims it’s common knowledge that each Fan will generate at least $1 in monthly profits. However, they offer no evidence to support this unlikely statement.

And for anyone who might still be considering USocial, consider the stance of Twitter and Digg. When USocial set up similar business offerings on these networks, both sites moved to ban USocial. Despite those demands to cease and desist, USocial continues to run its business.