Why did 150,000 Israelis join a worthless Facebook group?

More than 150,000 Israelis have recently joined a Facebook group that promises to reveal to its members the identities of people who view their profiles.

After I joined the group on the hit social networking Web site titled "who is looking at my profile," I followed the given instructions. I invited my friends to join and waited for the relevant application to appear on my profile page. I am still waiting.

The bloggers and sites that have discussed the matter all seem to have reached the same conclusion: Facebook blocks every option of relaying information on users' details - and has blocked applications of this sort as well. This, by the way, is the source of the network's strength, enabling users to peek at their bosses' profiles without the risk of embarrassment the next day at the office.

So what is the advantage in a worthless site accumulating such a large number of members?

Omer Bahat, an expert on promotion on the Web, says owning such a large group enables the creator to present himself as being known as a leading Internet personality, as well as enabling bulk-mail.

But the unsurprising bottom line is given by Shai, who is signed on as the founder of the group.

"The goal of the group is to constitute a calling card for my girlfriend," he writes. "It is understood that it is theoretically possible to use it as a list for circulation [purposes], not only for marketing goals but also for idealistic goals."

Shai admits that the application does not actually exist, and promises that the minute that one like it appears, he will inform the members of the group.