Wow this sounds familiar ….
Background. Early in 2005 I started Vocanic, my word of mouth marketing agency the vision for what we do was based around a single statement (see www.vocanic.com)
"There is nothing more valuable for your brand than a personal recommendation from one friend to another"
And thus, your brand's advocate promoters represented a much better way to reach out and create awareness and invite trial from new users than anything based on the old style interruption advertising model.
Now, November 2007 it seems like a fellow called Zuckerberg seems to agree with me, see his quote when launching SocialAds on his FaceBook platform
“Nothing influences a person more than a recommendation from a trusted friend,”
Thanks Mark … its nice to know you’re thinking along the same lines (and wish I’d sold 1.6% of my company for $250m on the way) !
Social Ads – as far as I can tell from the FaceBook Press Release are going to work like this.
When you buy something from a participating e-retailer you will be asked if the e-retailer can post to your profile saying that you have bought their product and include their message.
Some sources (eg NY Times) are describing it as "twist" word of mouth
“Yesterday, in a twist on word-of-mouth marketing, Facebook began selling ads that display people’s profile photos next to commercial messages that are shown to their friends about items they purchased or registered an opinion about.”
The Social Ads Idea is clever, very clever. But it’s not true word of mouth. Here’s why
In my book WoM is when the person makes the recommendation for a brand in his/her own words (this is why it is authentic and credible) and NOT when they get used as a carrier pigeon to deliver the brands message.
In FaceBook’s model people’s profiles are simply being co-opted to carry the brands advertising. It’s simply a clever way for brands to put their advert on your FaceBook profile
But – the advertisers with love it as it “seems like Word of Mouth” and YET they still get to control the message – and thus FaceBook will make lots more money.
Conclusion:
Is it a clever new way to advertise– yes.
Is it a good idea for brands to advertise this way – yes.
But, don’t see this as real word of mouth – my profile carrying your ad is not as effective as me telling my friends in my own words how good your product is.
Net net – do both, they work hand in had.
Wow this sounds familiar ….
Background. Early in 2005 I started Vocanic, my word of mouth marketing agency the vision for what we do was based around a single statement (see www.vocanic.com)
"There is nothing more valuable for your brand than a personal recommendation from one friend to another"
And thus, your brand's advocate promoters represented a much better way to reach out and create awareness and invite trial from new users than anything based on the old style interruption advertising model.
Now, November 2007 it seems like a fellow called Zuckerberg seems to agree with me, see his quote when launching SocialAds on his FaceBook platform
“Nothing influences a person more than a recommendation from a trusted friend,”
Thanks Mark … its nice to know you’re thinking along the same lines (and wish I’d sold 1.6% of my company for $250m on the way) !
Social Ads – as far as I can tell from the FaceBook Press Release are going to work like this.
When you buy something from a participating e-retailer you will be asked if the e-retailer can post to your profile saying that you have bought their product and include their message.
Some sources (eg NY Times) are describing it as "twist" word of mouth
“Yesterday, in a twist on word-of-mouth marketing, Facebook began selling ads that display people’s profile photos next to commercial messages that are shown to their friends about items they purchased or registered an opinion about.”
The Social Ads Idea is clever, very clever. But it’s not true word of mouth. Here’s why
In my book WoM is when the person makes the recommendation for a brand in his/her own words (this is why it is authentic and credible) and NOT when they get used as a carrier pigeon to deliver the brands message.
In FaceBook’s model people’s profiles are simply being co-opted to carry the brands advertising. It’s simply a clever way for brands to put their advert on your FaceBook profile
But – the advertisers with love it as it “seems like Word of Mouth” and YET they still get to control the message – and thus FaceBook will make lots more money.
Conclusion:
Is it a clever new way to advertise– yes.
Is it a good idea for brands to advertise this way – yes.
But, don’t see this as real word of mouth – my profile carrying your ad is not as effective as me telling my friends in my own words how good your product is.
Net net – do both, they work hand in had.
Read more: http://thepowerofinfluence.typepad.com/the_power_of_influence/2007/11/facebook-does-w.html#ixzz0UKow2nRV
Read More...
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
Facebook Login Support
This page will serve as the the ultimate web resource for Facebook Login Help.
Diganose The Problem
Your first course of action, if you can’t log into your Facebook account, is to diagnose what is keeping you out. Have you forgotten your password? If so you must reset your Facebook passoword via the Facebook Password Rest Page. A forgotten password is only one of many possible reasons you can’t log in. I would suggest you visit the the Facebook Help Center at this point, and use the information there to diagnose your problem. One particularly useful page is the help center’s Login and Password page, where you’ll find the following topics.
* I can’t log in to Facebook.
* I want to change my password.
* My account was hacked or “phished.”
* I want to change my login email address or add a new contact email address.
* I want to sign up for an account. I’m experiencing issues registering for an account.
* There is a yellow banner prompting me to confirm my account.
* I have questions about the “Remember me” option
* Bugs and known problems.
Is Facebook Being Blocked?
If all else fails, your Facebook access may be getting blocked by your employer, school, internet provider, or government. In this situation you’ll need to use what is called a Proxy Server to access facebook. Luckily for you, dear reader, the team here at Facebook Login has created not one, but two free Facebook Proxy Servers for your use.
Facebook Login Story
How did this page come into existence? It’s a funny story, I was locked out of my own Facebook account for over a month. I ended up getting in touch with someone at Facebook via email (support@facebook.com), and they were able to help me with my problem.
Your Facebook Login Story
I hope this article has helped you log into you Facebook account. If you have anything to contribute to this topic, please do so. I’d like to hear all of your Facebook login stories. Hopefully Facebook will catch wind of the problems we are having and do something about it. In the end, I just want to be able to log into my Facebook account, is that too much to ask for?
Read More...
Diganose The Problem
Your first course of action, if you can’t log into your Facebook account, is to diagnose what is keeping you out. Have you forgotten your password? If so you must reset your Facebook passoword via the Facebook Password Rest Page. A forgotten password is only one of many possible reasons you can’t log in. I would suggest you visit the the Facebook Help Center at this point, and use the information there to diagnose your problem. One particularly useful page is the help center’s Login and Password page, where you’ll find the following topics.
* I can’t log in to Facebook.
* I want to change my password.
* My account was hacked or “phished.”
* I want to change my login email address or add a new contact email address.
* I want to sign up for an account. I’m experiencing issues registering for an account.
* There is a yellow banner prompting me to confirm my account.
* I have questions about the “Remember me” option
* Bugs and known problems.
Is Facebook Being Blocked?
If all else fails, your Facebook access may be getting blocked by your employer, school, internet provider, or government. In this situation you’ll need to use what is called a Proxy Server to access facebook. Luckily for you, dear reader, the team here at Facebook Login has created not one, but two free Facebook Proxy Servers for your use.
Facebook Login Story
How did this page come into existence? It’s a funny story, I was locked out of my own Facebook account for over a month. I ended up getting in touch with someone at Facebook via email (support@facebook.com), and they were able to help me with my problem.
Your Facebook Login Story
I hope this article has helped you log into you Facebook account. If you have anything to contribute to this topic, please do so. I’d like to hear all of your Facebook login stories. Hopefully Facebook will catch wind of the problems we are having and do something about it. In the end, I just want to be able to log into my Facebook account, is that too much to ask for?
Read More...
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Facebook Login Cookies Required
This is a very annoying attribute to Facebook when logging in this message appears which reads
Your screen will look like the image below,
There is a simple resolution but it entirely depends on which web browser you are are using the most commonly used web broswer is Internet Explorer IE for short and is developed by Microsoft and it comes pre installed on all pcs with any version of the windows operating system.
Enable Cookies in Internet Explorer Resolution in easy steps:
1.
Click on the Tools popup-menu in Internet Explorer.
2. Click on the Internet Options item in the menu – a new window opens.
3. Click on the Privacy tab near the top of the window.
4. Click on the Sites button – another window opens.
5.
Enter timeanddate.com in the text field and then click Allow. timeanddate.com will appear in the “Managed webisites” list below with a Setting of Allowed
6. Save changes by clicking Ok in each window.
Enable Cookies in Firefox Resolution in easy steps:
1. Click on the Tools-menu in Mozilla
2. Click on the Options… item in the menu – a new window opens
3. Click on the Privacy selection in the left part of the window. (See image below)
4. Expand the Cookies section.
5. Check the Enable cookies and Accept cookies normally checkboxes.
6. Save changes by clicking Ok and go to one of the configuration pages again
Enable Cookies in Chrome Resolution in easy steps:
* Click Settings > Options
* Go to Under the Hood Tab and scroll down
* Here you can Enable / Disable or Selectively Enable
Cookies
Enable Cookies in Opera Resolution in easy steps:
1. Click on Tools in Opera
2. Click the link Preferences a new window opens
3. Click on Privacy at bottom left of the window.
4. To Enable cookies tick he box, make sure that Accept all cookies is selected in the Normal cookies section.
5. Click OK to save.
We hope that reading these guidelines helps you get logged into Facebook without any problems if problems persist then please visit our support section of the site and discuss this with fellow Facebook Login users.
Read More...
Cookies are not enabled on your browser. Please adjust this in your security preferences before continuing.
Your screen will look like the image below,
There is a simple resolution but it entirely depends on which web browser you are are using the most commonly used web broswer is Internet Explorer IE for short and is developed by Microsoft and it comes pre installed on all pcs with any version of the windows operating system.
Enable Cookies in Internet Explorer Resolution in easy steps:
1.
Click on the Tools popup-menu in Internet Explorer.
2. Click on the Internet Options item in the menu – a new window opens.
3. Click on the Privacy tab near the top of the window.
4. Click on the Sites button – another window opens.
5.
Enter timeanddate.com in the text field and then click Allow. timeanddate.com will appear in the “Managed webisites” list below with a Setting of Allowed
6. Save changes by clicking Ok in each window.
Enable Cookies in Firefox Resolution in easy steps:
1. Click on the Tools-menu in Mozilla
2. Click on the Options… item in the menu – a new window opens
3. Click on the Privacy selection in the left part of the window. (See image below)
4. Expand the Cookies section.
5. Check the Enable cookies and Accept cookies normally checkboxes.
6. Save changes by clicking Ok and go to one of the configuration pages again
Enable Cookies in Chrome Resolution in easy steps:
* Click Settings > Options
* Go to Under the Hood Tab and scroll down
* Here you can Enable / Disable or Selectively Enable
Cookies
Enable Cookies in Opera Resolution in easy steps:
1. Click on Tools in Opera
2. Click the link Preferences a new window opens
3. Click on Privacy at bottom left of the window.
4. To Enable cookies tick he box, make sure that Accept all cookies is selected in the Normal cookies section.
5. Click OK to save.
We hope that reading these guidelines helps you get logged into Facebook without any problems if problems persist then please visit our support section of the site and discuss this with fellow Facebook Login users.
Read More...
Monday, October 12, 2009
How to poke a friend on facebook
The facebook poke as been used millions of times throughout the world and is unique to facebook, the action lets you poke your friends with options for them to poke you back here we list basic instructions on how to poke a friend on facebook.
* Make sure your logged into facebook.
* Use the search bar to look for the friend you wish to poke, type their name and then click on their profile link.
* Now you have located the friend you wish to poke hit the ‘Poke’ link.
* Make sure you happy with the poke then click the confirm action button the poke will be sent
* The next time your friends logs into facebook they will will receive a notification of the poke and may poke you back.
For the poke to show up on your friends wall it must be done using the publisher.
Read More...
* Make sure your logged into facebook.
* Use the search bar to look for the friend you wish to poke, type their name and then click on their profile link.
* Now you have located the friend you wish to poke hit the ‘Poke’ link.
* Make sure you happy with the poke then click the confirm action button the poke will be sent
* The next time your friends logs into facebook they will will receive a notification of the poke and may poke you back.
For the poke to show up on your friends wall it must be done using the publisher.
Read More...
Facebook Toolbar for Firefox
The firefox facebook toolbar is ultra cool if your a fan of the firefox web browser aswell as a facebooker! The idea is that you can be anywhere on any site and still stay connected to your facebook profile with notifications, chat, messages and friends online status.
Some of the key features of the tool bar are Search, chat, sharing pages, notifications and more. The toolbar is good for those that wont to be connected but don’t want to be on the facebook site at the same time so you could be reading a news article on the bbc news website or checking out your emails and still stay connected to facebook through this cool firefox addon.
Read More...
Some of the key features of the tool bar are Search, chat, sharing pages, notifications and more. The toolbar is good for those that wont to be connected but don’t want to be on the facebook site at the same time so you could be reading a news article on the bbc news website or checking out your emails and still stay connected to facebook through this cool firefox addon.
Read More...
Saturday, October 10, 2009
How To Protect Yourself So To Not Get Banned By Facebook
There couldn't be anything worse than for someone online to get banned by Facebook. I mean there is surely other things that could be worse, but getting banned from facebook wouldn't be that great either. There are people that have been using Facebook since its beginnings and have such a history there it would be hard to see it go away. To make sure this never happens to you, we will go through some of the things that you must be careful of what not to do.
Facebook has worked hard to make sure that they keep spam to a minimum and if they even think that you are trying to spam on their site they will ban you. Facebook should even be a little bit more cautious because of all the problems that people had over at Myspace. Once Facebook opened the doors to the general public there was a huge influx of people coming over, most people came because they couldn't handle all the spam inside Myspace.
Take a look at what Facebook considers spam.
Make sure that you are not trying to add a lot of friends in one day. This is usually around 100 people a day. It is a good idea to keep the amount of people that you add a day to around 60 or less, unless you are getting more suggested friends that you may know.
Second thing you will not want to do is send out a exact message on all of your friends walls. This is going back to the Myspace days of when you would see the exact same thing about how someone won a free purse, although it was on your most manliest friends wall. This happened when one of your friends accounts go hacked and then the spammer went in there and posted random spammy wall posts. It might be true that you have the same thing to say to all of your friends, but if this is the issue, just update your updates in your feed.
The next thing that you will want to watch out for is sending a mass email. There is a limit in Facebook on how many people you can send an email to that is identical. If this is something that you still really want to do, just make sure to change the title of the email so that it reflects differently to some of your friends.
The last thing you will be considered spamming for is if you send out a mass poke or promtional links to all your friends. It can be that you feel like poking all of your friends for fun, but just don't do it.
Read More...
Facebook has worked hard to make sure that they keep spam to a minimum and if they even think that you are trying to spam on their site they will ban you. Facebook should even be a little bit more cautious because of all the problems that people had over at Myspace. Once Facebook opened the doors to the general public there was a huge influx of people coming over, most people came because they couldn't handle all the spam inside Myspace.
Take a look at what Facebook considers spam.
Make sure that you are not trying to add a lot of friends in one day. This is usually around 100 people a day. It is a good idea to keep the amount of people that you add a day to around 60 or less, unless you are getting more suggested friends that you may know.
Second thing you will not want to do is send out a exact message on all of your friends walls. This is going back to the Myspace days of when you would see the exact same thing about how someone won a free purse, although it was on your most manliest friends wall. This happened when one of your friends accounts go hacked and then the spammer went in there and posted random spammy wall posts. It might be true that you have the same thing to say to all of your friends, but if this is the issue, just update your updates in your feed.
The next thing that you will want to watch out for is sending a mass email. There is a limit in Facebook on how many people you can send an email to that is identical. If this is something that you still really want to do, just make sure to change the title of the email so that it reflects differently to some of your friends.
The last thing you will be considered spamming for is if you send out a mass poke or promtional links to all your friends. It can be that you feel like poking all of your friends for fun, but just don't do it.
Read More...
Friday, October 9, 2009
Learn All About Facebook
Individuals, of all different ages, enjoy meeting and communicating with other internet users. Despite the fact that individuals of all ages use the internet to socialize, there are certain groups of individuals that do more than others. Those groups of individuals include students, both high school students and college students. For that reason, it is only fitting that there should be a social networking website that has a focus on these particular individuals. That networking website is known as Facebook.
Facebook may not be as well known as other popular social networking websites, such as Yahoo! 360 or MySpace, but it is still popular. That popularity is mostly among high school students and college students, mostly because Facebook focuses on these individuals in particular. With Facebook, you are required to register for a specific network. That network can either include the high school or college which you attended or are currently attending. Once you have joined the website, you should easily be able to make contact with others who are in the same network.
The network in which you join can be considered an advantage of Facebook, as well as a disadvantage. See, Facebook does not work like most other social networking websites. Instead of being able to communicate with all site members, you are limited to contact with those that are in your particular network, the high school or college you that selected. The creators of Facebook state that this is for your own safety. Although it is safer for your profile and personal information to be viewed by a small number of individuals, you may not necessity want it to be that way.
Although a large amount of focus is placed on high school students and college students, Facebook has added another popular feature to their website. That feature is workplace networks. By joining a specific workplace network, you will be granted access to other community members who work for the same company as you. This feature is nice, especially since many companies have become large corporations or expanded across the country. You may be able to make contact and become friends with a long-distance coworker that you never knew you had.
Another aspect of Facebook that you may find inconvenient is their lack of available information, before you decide to become a community member. When viewing their online website, which can be found at facebook com, it is hard to tell whether or not the site is free to use. Most online social networking sites will make this known right upfront, but Facebook does not. Aside from the price, you should easily be able to obtain additional information on Facebook, before making the decision to become a member. This additional information may include how Facebook works, why you should become a member, how the invite process works, and general rules and restrictions that are in place.
If you are interested in joining the Facebook community, you should do what you should do with all other social networking websites, research. By taking the time to research and examine everything that Facebook has to offer, you should be able to decide whether or not this popular networking community is what you were looking for. There is a good chance that it will be, but if not, do not worry. There are literally an unlimited number of other social networking websites that you can join.
Read More...
Facebook may not be as well known as other popular social networking websites, such as Yahoo! 360 or MySpace, but it is still popular. That popularity is mostly among high school students and college students, mostly because Facebook focuses on these individuals in particular. With Facebook, you are required to register for a specific network. That network can either include the high school or college which you attended or are currently attending. Once you have joined the website, you should easily be able to make contact with others who are in the same network.
The network in which you join can be considered an advantage of Facebook, as well as a disadvantage. See, Facebook does not work like most other social networking websites. Instead of being able to communicate with all site members, you are limited to contact with those that are in your particular network, the high school or college you that selected. The creators of Facebook state that this is for your own safety. Although it is safer for your profile and personal information to be viewed by a small number of individuals, you may not necessity want it to be that way.
Although a large amount of focus is placed on high school students and college students, Facebook has added another popular feature to their website. That feature is workplace networks. By joining a specific workplace network, you will be granted access to other community members who work for the same company as you. This feature is nice, especially since many companies have become large corporations or expanded across the country. You may be able to make contact and become friends with a long-distance coworker that you never knew you had.
Another aspect of Facebook that you may find inconvenient is their lack of available information, before you decide to become a community member. When viewing their online website, which can be found at facebook com, it is hard to tell whether or not the site is free to use. Most online social networking sites will make this known right upfront, but Facebook does not. Aside from the price, you should easily be able to obtain additional information on Facebook, before making the decision to become a member. This additional information may include how Facebook works, why you should become a member, how the invite process works, and general rules and restrictions that are in place.
If you are interested in joining the Facebook community, you should do what you should do with all other social networking websites, research. By taking the time to research and examine everything that Facebook has to offer, you should be able to decide whether or not this popular networking community is what you were looking for. There is a good chance that it will be, but if not, do not worry. There are literally an unlimited number of other social networking websites that you can join.
Read More...
Facebook Scams Beware!
Facebook is a highly popular social networking site. You can meet tons of people all around the world. Whether you are there to make friends, networking or dating it is the place to be besides Myspace. Just about anyone you know has a Facebook account, from your co-worker, family, friends and your children are logging in everyday. There are 3 billion messages pass through Facebook every single day. Facebook is a great resource for business owners to market their business.
There are 150 million of users from all over the world on this site every single day and that's why you should be careful on who you communicate with. You cannot see who you are talking too, and you don't know if they are approaching you with the truth in email exchanges. This is a perfect and wide open opportunity for scammers to take advantage of you. These criminals can pose as your friend and scam you out of anything they want.
Here are some scams for you to watch out for when it comes to communicating with strangers on Facebook.
Friend in Distress- This is when a scammer posing as your friend emails you and tells you that they have been in some kind of accident and need your help. They will ask you to send them money. They will give you any kind of story for you to believe them so that you can send those funds. One key to this scam that does not fit is when they request that you send the money overseas. If you come in contact with someone that has sent you an email like this, and it just does not sound right. Call your friend to make sure you don't fall victim to this scam. The reason why they have your friend's info to contact you on Facebook is that they have hack into your friend's computer. Be careful!
Fishing Friend Scam- Is when you get an email sending you to another website to download software. When you download the software it releases viruses to your computer and allows the hacker to get into your computer and gather all of your information.
Viral Wall Past Scam- This is when you get an email and it's has a virus in it which allows the hacker to get all of you and your friend's info on your Facebook account and see everything you are typing when communicating with your contacts. These scammers can collect your bank account information and everything else.
So, when you are on Facebook beware of these suspicious emails. If you get an email from a friend and you have an unsettling feeling about it, remember contact your friend by phone to ensure that it was them that had contacted you.
Read More...There's no hiding on Facebook
It's impossible to keep your personal information private on a social networking site. We need stronger privacy protections.
In September, Facebook lost a $9.5m class-action lawsuit and subsequently shuttered its Beacon service, which recorded what users did on non-Facebook sites and posted the information to the system's news feed. Beacon infuriated Facebook users, who argued that it drew together disparate information that was disturbingly more than the sum of its parts. (One plaintiff's Christmas present to his wife, a ring bought on Overstock.com, was unexpectedly revealed to his network, ruining the surprise. He received $15,000.)
Facebook has been repeatedly criticised on privacy grounds. While the company claims it doesn't sell user information, details are made available to third-party application developers, who account for much of the site's profits. And researchers have found that personal data can be "leaked" to advertisers and data aggregators, who already collect browsing and behavioural information about people as they move about the web. Just last week, Facebook announced a multi-million dollar deal with Nielsen, known for their meticulous tracking of television ratings and internet metrics.
Even without these partnerships, Facebook makes privacy advocates uneasy. University of Wisconsin professor Michael Zimmer accurately identified an "anonymised" Facebook dataset from the description that it was a private college in the northeast (spoiler alert: it was Harvard). Similarly, the "Project Gaydar" research team at MIT found that gay men's sexual orientation could be identified based solely on their friends. It's not just information you make explicitly available – age, partner's name or favourite film – that identifies you on Facebook. Close analysis of a network of friends can reveal deeply personal details, even with a private profile. These studies suggest that it's impossible to retain complete control over personal information within a detailed, publicly available network.
Highly publicised incidents in which information posted on Facebook led to firings, evictions and expulsions have inspired stern lectures to students, warning them to remove their profiles, or else. But it's not that simple. For millions of people – and not just teenagers – Facebook facilitates conversations, connections and invitations that are integral to both online and offline social life. Indeed, there are clear social benefits to letting your friends know what you're up to.
But providing personal information to friends as part of a thriving social web is very different from passing that same information to teachers, employers or marketing companies. Personal details are shared within a social context that already has certain privacy expectations – don't tell my mom I'm having a party. Don't tell John about his birthday present.
The enormous protests over Beacon show what happens when users believe their privacy expectations have been violated. In February, Facebook changed its terms of service, claiming that it owned content contributed by users. The uproar that ensued spurred it to ask for user input into future changes, a surprising victory.
While people are starting to hold Facebook accountable for these promises, the company's privacy controls need to be more transparent and user-friendly. Users should know, for example, that installing an application makes all their friends' personal information available to the company that developed that application – which could be a marketing agency, a major corporation or one student in a dorm room.
Equally important, we need stronger privacy laws for social media users. For example, although it's illegal for US employers to ask job candidates their race or age, this information is routinely found using social network sites. People are unlikely to stop using sites like Facebook. Rather than protesting, we need legal, social and technological institutions to protect us. If Facebook and other social media creators care about the long-term success of their companies, they should take an active role in instituting privacy controls and support data protection legislation.
Read More...
In September, Facebook lost a $9.5m class-action lawsuit and subsequently shuttered its Beacon service, which recorded what users did on non-Facebook sites and posted the information to the system's news feed. Beacon infuriated Facebook users, who argued that it drew together disparate information that was disturbingly more than the sum of its parts. (One plaintiff's Christmas present to his wife, a ring bought on Overstock.com, was unexpectedly revealed to his network, ruining the surprise. He received $15,000.)
Facebook has been repeatedly criticised on privacy grounds. While the company claims it doesn't sell user information, details are made available to third-party application developers, who account for much of the site's profits. And researchers have found that personal data can be "leaked" to advertisers and data aggregators, who already collect browsing and behavioural information about people as they move about the web. Just last week, Facebook announced a multi-million dollar deal with Nielsen, known for their meticulous tracking of television ratings and internet metrics.
Even without these partnerships, Facebook makes privacy advocates uneasy. University of Wisconsin professor Michael Zimmer accurately identified an "anonymised" Facebook dataset from the description that it was a private college in the northeast (spoiler alert: it was Harvard). Similarly, the "Project Gaydar" research team at MIT found that gay men's sexual orientation could be identified based solely on their friends. It's not just information you make explicitly available – age, partner's name or favourite film – that identifies you on Facebook. Close analysis of a network of friends can reveal deeply personal details, even with a private profile. These studies suggest that it's impossible to retain complete control over personal information within a detailed, publicly available network.
Highly publicised incidents in which information posted on Facebook led to firings, evictions and expulsions have inspired stern lectures to students, warning them to remove their profiles, or else. But it's not that simple. For millions of people – and not just teenagers – Facebook facilitates conversations, connections and invitations that are integral to both online and offline social life. Indeed, there are clear social benefits to letting your friends know what you're up to.
But providing personal information to friends as part of a thriving social web is very different from passing that same information to teachers, employers or marketing companies. Personal details are shared within a social context that already has certain privacy expectations – don't tell my mom I'm having a party. Don't tell John about his birthday present.
The enormous protests over Beacon show what happens when users believe their privacy expectations have been violated. In February, Facebook changed its terms of service, claiming that it owned content contributed by users. The uproar that ensued spurred it to ask for user input into future changes, a surprising victory.
While people are starting to hold Facebook accountable for these promises, the company's privacy controls need to be more transparent and user-friendly. Users should know, for example, that installing an application makes all their friends' personal information available to the company that developed that application – which could be a marketing agency, a major corporation or one student in a dorm room.
Equally important, we need stronger privacy laws for social media users. For example, although it's illegal for US employers to ask job candidates their race or age, this information is routinely found using social network sites. People are unlikely to stop using sites like Facebook. Rather than protesting, we need legal, social and technological institutions to protect us. If Facebook and other social media creators care about the long-term success of their companies, they should take an active role in instituting privacy controls and support data protection legislation.
Read More...
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