Sigh. I was not planning on writing a post on Facebook although I have been sharing extensively on the issue. Still, I was not going to step out on my own and say a word until Brad Shorr and Joanna Paterson double teamed me. Okay, they did not intentionally double team me. Unbeknownst to one another both published posts yesterday on Facebook. Both, in their typical style, examined the issue and offered honest, balanced opinions. That however is not what prompted me to write, no it was a comment by Brad on Joanna’s post that reminded me of my social responsibility to educate others on a key issue that is in fact in my area of expertise. Sigh.
So, is Facebook evil? I cannot pretend to know the hearts and minds of the Facebook team but in a word “no.” Like Joanna and Brad, I have a love-hate relationship with Facebook. To be fair, I also love-hate email, twitter and coupons. Welcome to my world. Yes, Facebook has convoluted, unbelievably complicated privacy controls, and I take my stand with others seeking a change, but evil is pushing it in my opinion.
Privacy online is a myth. I learned this years ago when we had nothing more than email and bulletin boards. I sent a “private” email to a recently fired colleague. My “private” email ended up as “evidence” in my friend’s lawsuit against the company. A simple gesture of kindness, and solidarity sent “privately” was in fact discoverable. The lesson stuck and 9/11 pushed it deeper.
If you want private, don’t share it. I am not excusing Facebook’s privacy policy but we should be clear that our words and actions are rarely private. Do you use reward cards, credit cards or buy any products or services? Do you have a driver’s license, social security card or insurance? Do you live in a place that has public cameras (street lights, security cameras)? Information is collected about us all the time and used in various ways to monitor and/or predict our behavior.
Yet, the platforms we use also have a responsibility in making it easy for us to manage the flow of information. This is the “hate” part of my relationship with Facebook.
There are those that will diligently plow through the information, read the policy carefully and take precautions. Others will ignore or tune out the hubbub and continue to play Farmville, chat with friends and post funny pictures. Still others will protest loudly and lead an army of people to quit altogether.
The people who will ignore the warnings are largely the “real people” that brought many of us to Facebook in the first place. You know the people who don’t live in the social media echo chamber, are not opted in to a million lists and simply take the web and its content at face value. Yea, the people we marketers salaciously went after once we discovered they were on Facebook.
I find it hypocritical that “we” descended upon Facebook in droves and happily took advantage of the freedom to grow our networks and market our careers, products and services yet we now spit venom at the “evil ones” for daring to actually collect and use that information.
Again, this is no defense of Facebook’s policy but perhaps we should take the plank out of our own eyes before we remove the speck in our brother’s eye. We created this with our sharing and connecting. Did we really believe that a free tool would not see an opportunity to monetize our actions?
I am all for protesting to make things better and safer for everyone. I am joining the one day Facebook black out and I will continue to loudly add my voice to others urging for change but I will not cry foul and leave entirely. We have a responsibility to protect ourselves and I believe our communities. So, I will continue to love-hate Facebook but I will not blame them for a monster we collectively created.
How about you? What precautions do you take online? What are your feelings about online privacy?
Related articles by Zemanta
- My Love-Hate Relationship with Facebook (wordsellinc.com)
- Facebook Shared Personal Data With Advertisers Without User Consent (dailyfinance.com)
- WSJ: Facebook, MySpace & Others Share Identifying User Data With Advertisers (techcrunch.com)
- Facebook’s Privacy Battle: How to Put Your Profile on Lockdown (dailyfinance.com)
Jon D. says
I’m a lawyer in Canada and Courts (in Canada ) are making some interesting decisions regarding online information about people. Some decisions state that in some cases, the private information in a Facebook account must be handed over to the other side.
I tell my clients now right away about this and that they must be very aware of their online communications in social media and elsewhere.
The legal world will struggle with this for years to come. I can tell you that insurance companies quickly start searching people by name online often very soon after a lawsuit is started to see what they can find.
Nobody wants to get involved in a lawsuit, but it can happen (a bad car accident for example). I’m not saying don’t participate online, but it’s a good idea to understand that your online content may become available to people you never intended.
Bill - Dog House Plans says
You mentioned in your post “Privacy online is a myth” – I couldn’t agree with you more. Have you noticed how many sites you visit these days which allow you to comment that have your facebook image near the comments section. Even if you are not logged into facebook. I also learnt the other day that Google customizes your search results depending on your search history. Basically if you do a search for something, and then clear your cookies and do that search again you could see different results.
There is no privacy online at all. Guess we just have to live with it.
Thanks for the interesting post
All the best,
Bill Jenkins
Webmaster, LearnHowToBuildADogHouse.com
Karen Swim says
Hi Debbie! Your boss gave great advice. The email was not damaging but it felt invasive to have “a friend” try to use a personal email sent to make her feel less bad about being fired as a stand of solidarity with her. In the end, I had the attorneys laughing so hard in the deposition they were in tears. She lost the case and I learned a big lesson. You are right that people can dig up things on you, if we really knew how much was “out there” we’d hide under the bed, lol!
Debbie Yost says
My very first boss in the professional world told me something I will never forget: Never put in writing what you don’t want others to read. Interestingly enough, he was an attorney, and as you learned in you private email, you never know what could be discovered in court or otherwise.
I live by that rule and always think twice before I put anything in writing. Also, I believe that if someone is truly determined to get information on you, they will. Sure, take precautions, let’s not be stupid, but to assume that you can keep it all private, short of living in the mountains like Grizzley Adams, someone, somewhere is going to have some information on you.
.-= Debbie Yost´s last blog ..Bracelets =-.
karen says
Conor, ha! I thought about that recently, creating a pen name but decided against it, but it certainly could come in handy at times… 🙂
karen says
Matches, 🙂 I love the succinct on target statement. Privacy is indeed dead but and there has always been an abundance of information that is free. Consider all that gets exchanged between human beings on a daily basis. Technology has made it easier to spread those ideas and certainly presented new challenges in regards to privacy, ownership and compensation.
Matches Malone says
Well, I don’t think I specifically created what’s going on with Fakebook right now, however, we’ll set that point aside for a minute, as you asked what I think.
I think privacy is dead, and information should be free.
There’s probably more that I think, however, Google has recently undertaken the same or similar overreach….
.-= Matches Malone´s last blog ..3 Takeaways from this year’s 168 Film Festival =-.
Conor says
Hey Karen,
Well it might be a start 🙂
I find it tricky with writing. It’s hard to distinguish between the voices of resistance and responsibility at times. They seem to masquerade as each other.
Perhaps an alias is needed to solve that one 🙂
Conor
Karen Swim says
Hi Conor! I think that’s a brilliant idea to have broadcasting policies. We all have a loose approach to it now and the laws definitely have not kept pace with our new reality, but we can pave the way. Very good suggestion! How do you handle this with regard to your music and poetry?
.-= Karen Swim´s last blog ..Facebook, the Illusion of Privacy and Loud Mouth Quitters =-.
Conor says
Hey Karen,
Great analysis. I share your love / hate for Facebook and agree with your point about the hypocrisy of much of the backlash.
Private memoirs and letters written by famous authors / actors / leaders have been published after their death. The lesson is clear. Once you share information with others, you no longer control when, how and where it may be re-published.
We have the same level of control over our thoughts and actions as we always did. However, we are now all broadcasters if we choose to be. TV networks have broadcasting policies. Perhaps we need some of our own.
Conor
Karen Swim says
Thank you Joanna! I was tickled and spurred into action by you two yesterday! I agree, when we really get hold of “private” we can see things in a different light and really work on how to use (or not to use) in a way that makes us feel comfortable. As you said, “they’re all just what they are.” Yes, indeed!
.-= Karen Swim´s last blog ..Facebook, the Illusion of Privacy and Loud Mouth Quitters =-.
Joanna Paterson says
What a thoughtful analysis Karen. I’m glad Brad and I unwittingly prompted you into action!
I think you hit the nail on the hit with the illusion of privacy. Once you’re clear on that it’s much easier to start making assesments of whether / how to use a particular platform.
We shouldn’t trust any of the platforms – nor should we cast any of them down as evil. They’re all just what they are.
Karen Swim says
Hey Brad! You are spot on with your analysis. The issues are not new, how many people protest the centuries old census? Yet, as these tools become more widespread, we all need to examine what that means and work to ensure that we are using responsibly. By the way, saw an episode of Criminal Minds this week that dealt with social sharing that was spooky!
.-= Karen Swim´s last blog ..Facebook, the Illusion of Privacy and Loud Mouth Quitters =-.
Brad Shorr says
Hi Karen, Great to see you jumping into the fray with your (as always) clearheaded thinking and analysis. You are right as rain about publicly shared information being … public. This problem existed long before social media. People would send (and continue to send) blistering emails without regard for the fact they could be forwarded or printed. It’s unfortunate what happened to you – it’s happened to just about everybody – hence the age old expression, words coming back to haunt us. But as you point out, saying nothing is no solution. Shutting oneself off from all social media is just as silly as Facebook’s byzantine privacy controls. We just have to do the best we can to influence these platforms to follow the Golden Rule – treat your community as you would want your community to treat you.
.-= Brad Shorr´s last blog ..My Love-Hate Relationship with Facebook =-.