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Facebook is a great social site. Many folks have been able to get back in touch with old friends and neighbors they would have never located otherwise. But even though Facebook is free, don’t think you need be indebted to them. Facebook is making millions of dollars from their advertisers whose ads we click on, so there is absolutely no altruism here. If no one advertised on Facebook, it would shut down in a heartbeat.
As a result, the goal of almost every change Facebook makes is to increase their revenue, and the revenue of their advertisers and business partners. This is fine, but Facebook users must be aware that, by default, their personal information is available to anyone on the Internet.
Facebook users, once signed in, should click Accounts, and click Privacy Settings. Go through the settings for each item for each section. Make sure you help your child do this as well. With Identity Theft rampant, showing all of your personal information and photos to anyone in the world can be unwise, indeed.
Even if you are a risk taker, do your friends a favor and stop allowing Everybody to see your Friend List. Click the Profile tab, click the pencil in the upper right corner of the Friends box, and uncheck “Show Friends List to Everyone.” It is checked by default.
Now to the main focus of this post: Facebook just announced some new features this week. Some are OK and some are very worrisome. Here is a brief summary of the more important features.
First of all, we have Facebook’s "Instant Personalization." Touted by Facebook as helping to make your online experience more “magical,” this feature allows Facebook to share your public information to certain partners. Right now there are three partners: Microsoft Docs, Pandora, and Yelp.
Here is the problem. First, you are OPTED IN by default. Second, even if you opt out, opting out does not stop your Friends from sharing your information with these companies unless you take further action. And when Facebook adds more companies, which they are sure to do, you will have to keep a continual vigil to protect your information from being shared by your Friends.
For more information, please see our blog post How to OPT OUT of Facebook Instant Personalization.
Another feature Facebook announced this week is the new "Like" button available to any entity to place on their website or blog. When clicked, Facebook posts a comment on your wall and, in many cases, a Page to your profile. This is similar to becoming a Fan of a Facebook Page. In fact, the “Become a Fan” button has been replaced by the “Like” button. Most folks won’t mind this new feature. And sometimes we can become aware of cool websites via this mechanism.
Sites can use Facebook’s new "Activity Feed" to tell you, when you visit their site, what activity your Friends are taking on the website. For example, if you are logged into Facebook and visit a news website, the site will display articles that your friends like and recommend. Do we really care that Suzie read an article on Anti-aging Cream?
Facebook is offering a new "Registration feature" which gives websites the option of letting you log into their site with your Facebook profile. When you do, the company will have access to your real name, email address, profile picture, and your Friends list. Plus any other information your privacy settings allow. Did I mention your Friends List?
I worry that Facebook, with some of these new features, may be playing a little loose with their users’ personal information. There is a lot of frustration already being expressed on the Internet about these changes. For the most part, of course, they are not to our benefit but to the benefit of the coffers of Facebook, its advertisers, and its partners.
But I think what really frustrates many is how Facebook, with a straight face, is telling us that these changes are for US! To make our online experience richer and ... more magical... Anyone who truly cherishes their privacy and understands the horror of Identity Theft should be concerned about some of the changes Facebook announced this week.
As a result, the goal of almost every change Facebook makes is to increase their revenue, and the revenue of their advertisers and business partners. This is fine, but Facebook users must be aware that, by default, their personal information is available to anyone on the Internet.
Facebook users, once signed in, should click Accounts, and click Privacy Settings. Go through the settings for each item for each section. Make sure you help your child do this as well. With Identity Theft rampant, showing all of your personal information and photos to anyone in the world can be unwise, indeed.
Even if you are a risk taker, do your friends a favor and stop allowing Everybody to see your Friend List. Click the Profile tab, click the pencil in the upper right corner of the Friends box, and uncheck “Show Friends List to Everyone.” It is checked by default.
Now to the main focus of this post: Facebook just announced some new features this week. Some are OK and some are very worrisome. Here is a brief summary of the more important features.
First of all, we have Facebook’s "Instant Personalization." Touted by Facebook as helping to make your online experience more “magical,” this feature allows Facebook to share your public information to certain partners. Right now there are three partners: Microsoft Docs, Pandora, and Yelp.
Here is the problem. First, you are OPTED IN by default. Second, even if you opt out, opting out does not stop your Friends from sharing your information with these companies unless you take further action. And when Facebook adds more companies, which they are sure to do, you will have to keep a continual vigil to protect your information from being shared by your Friends.
For more information, please see our blog post How to OPT OUT of Facebook Instant Personalization.
Another feature Facebook announced this week is the new "Like" button available to any entity to place on their website or blog. When clicked, Facebook posts a comment on your wall and, in many cases, a Page to your profile. This is similar to becoming a Fan of a Facebook Page. In fact, the “Become a Fan” button has been replaced by the “Like” button. Most folks won’t mind this new feature. And sometimes we can become aware of cool websites via this mechanism.
Sites can use Facebook’s new "Activity Feed" to tell you, when you visit their site, what activity your Friends are taking on the website. For example, if you are logged into Facebook and visit a news website, the site will display articles that your friends like and recommend. Do we really care that Suzie read an article on Anti-aging Cream?
Facebook is offering a new "Registration feature" which gives websites the option of letting you log into their site with your Facebook profile. When you do, the company will have access to your real name, email address, profile picture, and your Friends list. Plus any other information your privacy settings allow. Did I mention your Friends List?
I worry that Facebook, with some of these new features, may be playing a little loose with their users’ personal information. There is a lot of frustration already being expressed on the Internet about these changes. For the most part, of course, they are not to our benefit but to the benefit of the coffers of Facebook, its advertisers, and its partners.
But I think what really frustrates many is how Facebook, with a straight face, is telling us that these changes are for US! To make our online experience richer and ... more magical... Anyone who truly cherishes their privacy and understands the horror of Identity Theft should be concerned about some of the changes Facebook announced this week.
► Take a look at some of our other interesting posts, such as Facebook's New "Community Pages" Explained!
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1 comments:
I believe that Facebook is getting a bit too arrogant.
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