On Facebook
12 May 10
I've decided like many others that Facebook is *evil*. I won't go as far as deleting my account, which by the way, is nearly impossible to figure out how to do without reading a tutorial on another site. Strike one against FB.
Do I feel slightly guilty for trusting Google with a lot of my data, personal and otherwise, by using Gmail, Google Apps for Domains, GCal, GReader, etc.? Yes, but I have a strong semblance of privacy and security there, and as of right now, Google has given no indication that they will abuse their immense collection of data other than to serve targeted ads. I don't mind this.
Facebook has made every indication that they *will* sell your personal data to the highest bidder, be it the government or a corporation. Furthermore, they set as much information to open as possible, without notification, including information I have previously indicated I would like to be 'friends only' or whatever. Additionally, they track every click you make on their site, but most people don't know this. Think of all the random profiles and pictures you have looked at, how long you looked at them, etc. Think you've deleted a photo? Think again, FB keeps them forever. In fact, if you upload them to the site, FB *owns* them. Facebook has all of this data, and they have no qualms about selling it to third parties. Don't believe it? Ask yourself, how does FB make money to pay for the servers and bandwidth of the most visited site in the world?
Sadly, I do like Facebook for keeping up with friends, something I'm traditionally terrible at, and it is useful for planning events and getting in touch with groups of people. I will not delete my account, but I have sanitized it as much as possible (even though all the information I've ever put there in the first place is somewhere on FB's servers), until a more privacy focused alternative emerges. Facebook won't be king forever.
All of this was prompted by a good essay on FB by Jason Calacanis. My favorite part:
People are creating fan pages on Facebook and then paying Facebook to send them traffic. Let me explain this one more time: You’re PAYING Mark Zuckerberg money to send traffic to HIS SITE. Think about it.
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