Facebook :: Nosy or Nice?
Written By: Joel Paul
Facebook is social media’s Burj Khalifa. It towers over all other social media outlets and casts its shadow far and wide. Let’s face it; Facebook is a fantastic medium to stay connected with current and past friends. Recently, I ate lunch with a childhood friend which I reconnected with through Facebook. Artistic endeavors or charities I support can be marketed using Facebook. With any public forum, particularly the internet public forum, privacy is a concern. A Google search of “facebook privacy issues” produced several articles with publish dates in 2010. Facebook’s privacy issues are not new, nor have they faded. When interacting with Facebook we must think in terms of private information in a public venue, and we must be aware of Facebook’s personal settings. There is no doubt social media is an exciting result of the information age. Social media has challenged society to think in a different way about how we interact with each other, yet there are simple cautions we can take to ensure we have safe and annoyance free experiences.
Private Information in a Public Venue
Should privacy be eliminated simply because you have logged onto an internet networking site? Facebook would like us to believe we consent to giving up our privacy simply because we utilize their networking site. It seems Facebook has reversed this opinion in recent months, but their comments are still troublesome. When we step into a public form whether it is in the real world or cyber world, how much privacy should we logically expect to retain? When I go to Dave & Buster’s to enjoy an adult beverage, video games, and fellowship with friends, I use my bank debit card and personal identification number to pay for the entertainment and social interaction. It is reasonable to conclude my bank information and P.I.N. will not be used to collect purchasing data and sold to a marketing firm who will then start marketing beverages, food, and video games to me. While Dave & Buster’s is a public place, I’d prefer my private data to remain private. This is the area Facebook needs to continue to address. Earlier this year Facebook removed privacy setting options with the philosophy the world is changing and use of a public networking site implies you want your information public; however, this is the wrong approach, and it received a fair amount of criticism. Since that time, they have revised that approach and are allowing greater choice and control of privacy settings. Giving consumers more control over their personal data, even the pages we like or the causes we support, is a structure that is acceptable. Limiting the collection of personal data by third party software vendors who create applications like FarmVille and Mafia Wars creates confidence in the Facebook product. Stepping into a public venue (whether real world or cyber world) is not an implied consent for private data to be known by all.
Personal Settings on Facebook + How to adjust them
Practical steps can be taken to secure your information on Facebook. The first setting you may wish to investigate is the sharing of your general information (i.e. pictures, wall posts, and notes).
In the upper right hand corner of the Facebook application is a drop down menu labeled ‘Account Settings’. Once this menu is pulled down, there is a sub-menu titled ‘Privacy Settings’.
If this menu option is clicked upon, a screen labeled ‘Choose Your Privacy Settings’ is displayed.
Under the subsections on this page you’ll find ‘Sharing on Facebook’ with four options.
These options are:
Clicking these options will set who can view various aspects of your information. This is identified in the chart next to the options. Facebook has also implemented a ‘Customize Settings’ feature by which you can set every aspect of your information to a different level of viewership. This is a very nice feature from Facebook, and a measure Facebook can be commended for implementing.
Another group of settings you’ll want to review is at the bottom of the ‘Choose Your Privacy Settings’ page.
It is the privacy settings labeled ‘Applications and Websites’.
To access these settings, click on the hyperlink labeled ‘Edit your settings’.
From here you can turn off access to your data to all platform applications. This means games such as FarmVille and Mafia Wars will not have access to your private information; therefore, these applications and those who control them will not be able to sell your data to a third party marketing firm. Familiarize yourself with these settings to determine which meet your usage of Facebook. Since Facebook has historically done a bad job of communicating privacy setting changes, it is suggested privacy settings be reviewed on a consistent basis to ensure a change in the Facebook application has not negatively impacted privacy settings.
Consumers of Facebook do not have ownership rights; therefore, they cannot dictate how the product is made. Consumers cannot put pressure on stockholders either because Facebook is a privately held corporation; however, the Facebook community of users can choose other forms of social media. Just because Facebook is the industry leader does not mean it will remain in that position. Social media users do have a choice. There are sites such as Hi5.com, bebo.com, and myspace.com. Choices are available, and the user community can choose to utilize a different social media outlet if Facebook continues to breach its responsibility of keeping private information private. Socializing in a public forum does not imply consent to have our laundry, clean or otherwise, visible to others. Facebook needs to recognize they have a role in protecting private information. They may not like this responsibility, and it may limit the revenue of their company. If Facebook continues to experience breaches in retention of private data, then they may experience trouble retaining their market share.
Facebook is social media’s Burj Khalifa. It towers over all other social media outlets and casts its shadow far and wide. Let’s face it; Facebook is a fantastic medium to stay connected with current and past friends. Recently, I ate lunch with a childhood friend which I reconnected with through Facebook. Artistic endeavors or charities I support can be marketed using Facebook. With any public forum, particularly the internet public forum, privacy is a concern. A Google search of “facebook privacy issues” produced several articles with publish dates in 2010. Facebook’s privacy issues are not new, nor have they faded. When interacting with Facebook we must think in terms of private information in a public venue, and we must be aware of Facebook’s personal settings. There is no doubt social media is an exciting result of the information age. Social media has challenged society to think in a different way about how we interact with each other, yet there are simple cautions we can take to ensure we have safe and annoyance free experiences.
Private Information in a Public Venue
Should privacy be eliminated simply because you have logged onto an internet networking site? Facebook would like us to believe we consent to giving up our privacy simply because we utilize their networking site. It seems Facebook has reversed this opinion in recent months, but their comments are still troublesome. When we step into a public form whether it is in the real world or cyber world, how much privacy should we logically expect to retain? When I go to Dave & Buster’s to enjoy an adult beverage, video games, and fellowship with friends, I use my bank debit card and personal identification number to pay for the entertainment and social interaction. It is reasonable to conclude my bank information and P.I.N. will not be used to collect purchasing data and sold to a marketing firm who will then start marketing beverages, food, and video games to me. While Dave & Buster’s is a public place, I’d prefer my private data to remain private. This is the area Facebook needs to continue to address. Earlier this year Facebook removed privacy setting options with the philosophy the world is changing and use of a public networking site implies you want your information public; however, this is the wrong approach, and it received a fair amount of criticism. Since that time, they have revised that approach and are allowing greater choice and control of privacy settings. Giving consumers more control over their personal data, even the pages we like or the causes we support, is a structure that is acceptable. Limiting the collection of personal data by third party software vendors who create applications like FarmVille and Mafia Wars creates confidence in the Facebook product. Stepping into a public venue (whether real world or cyber world) is not an implied consent for private data to be known by all.
Personal Settings on Facebook + How to adjust them
Practical steps can be taken to secure your information on Facebook. The first setting you may wish to investigate is the sharing of your general information (i.e. pictures, wall posts, and notes).
In the upper right hand corner of the Facebook application is a drop down menu labeled ‘Account Settings’. Once this menu is pulled down, there is a sub-menu titled ‘Privacy Settings’.
If this menu option is clicked upon, a screen labeled ‘Choose Your Privacy Settings’ is displayed.
Under the subsections on this page you’ll find ‘Sharing on Facebook’ with four options.
These options are:
- Everyone
- Friends of Friends
- Friends Only
- and Recommended.
Clicking these options will set who can view various aspects of your information. This is identified in the chart next to the options. Facebook has also implemented a ‘Customize Settings’ feature by which you can set every aspect of your information to a different level of viewership. This is a very nice feature from Facebook, and a measure Facebook can be commended for implementing.
Another group of settings you’ll want to review is at the bottom of the ‘Choose Your Privacy Settings’ page.
It is the privacy settings labeled ‘Applications and Websites’.
To access these settings, click on the hyperlink labeled ‘Edit your settings’.
From here you can turn off access to your data to all platform applications. This means games such as FarmVille and Mafia Wars will not have access to your private information; therefore, these applications and those who control them will not be able to sell your data to a third party marketing firm. Familiarize yourself with these settings to determine which meet your usage of Facebook. Since Facebook has historically done a bad job of communicating privacy setting changes, it is suggested privacy settings be reviewed on a consistent basis to ensure a change in the Facebook application has not negatively impacted privacy settings.
Consumers of Facebook do not have ownership rights; therefore, they cannot dictate how the product is made. Consumers cannot put pressure on stockholders either because Facebook is a privately held corporation; however, the Facebook community of users can choose other forms of social media. Just because Facebook is the industry leader does not mean it will remain in that position. Social media users do have a choice. There are sites such as Hi5.com, bebo.com, and myspace.com. Choices are available, and the user community can choose to utilize a different social media outlet if Facebook continues to breach its responsibility of keeping private information private. Socializing in a public forum does not imply consent to have our laundry, clean or otherwise, visible to others. Facebook needs to recognize they have a role in protecting private information. They may not like this responsibility, and it may limit the revenue of their company. If Facebook continues to experience breaches in retention of private data, then they may experience trouble retaining their market share.
Posted by Urban Growth KC at 11/17/2010 9:59 AM 
Categories: informative
Tags: facebook social sites social media internet socail groups
Categories: informative
Tags: facebook social sites social media internet socail groups
Trackbacks
-
12/1/2010 6:48 AM
Copious-Systems wrote:
Someone referenced this post to answer question "FACEBOOK WALL PRIVACY SETTINGS ?"...
Comments