The Facebook Privacy Conundrum – Not Limited to Facebook
A number of posts recently about privacy has prompted me to write this post.
Can you trust Facebook? really, no more than you can trust any one organization with many investors. One person is easiser to trust or at least determine if they are worthy of your trust, with larger institutions it gets a little harder in a capitalistic economy.
Second – Privacy on the web is a facade, gone with the credit card, internet, mobile phones, terrorists, ATMs, and our unquenchable thirst for deals, reward zones, frequent flyers, buyers, stayers and everything elsers.
Consumers have opened the door to their own behaviors. We then swarm onto free platforms, Facebook is the 4th largest country. We complain about the ads that subsidize those free platforms, essentially biting the very hand that feeds our free desires to post about private lives then cry foul when those at risk, those being Facebook management and investors, dare to figure a way to pay for the servers in which our data is stored. That’s rich.
Be forewarned, if you jump my case about Facebook not telling us, changing the rules of the game, etc show me your copy of the Terms and Conditions that you read thoroughly. Yes, I’m being snarky to highlight how we have created our own cycle of addiction.
A society so consumed by consumption and connection, so impatient to get to the next thing, through our actions we have relinquished our privacy and attention to details. Oh yes I’m sure there are 100 of you that read T&Cs etc, and can argue the point. It’s a false argument because it’s not the way the majority of people engage with the social web.
Many marketers know this and act accordingly. This leaves a void for government to “save” us from our own impatience and irresponsibility.
I say the system works. You’ll never have true privacy again, and when the social mob screams loud enough, those dependent upon us to actually exist will listen. Facebook is no more if there is a mass exodus of Israelite proportion from the fourth largest country. The plans for this exodus are being developed by the Diaspora great name BTW. I’ll join Diaspora, but I won’t leave Facebook, competition is good – Hey My Space where are you in this!
No worries Facebook lovers, Facebook is circling the wagons they will repsond to the latest political bandwagon. The yelling pendulum will swing back to Facebook investors and the general crowd of those who want to boost revenues. Then Facebook management will come up with another way to minimize their screaming. Look at it this way, through privacy, advertising, or fees, the residents of the fourth largest country will need some taxation. Through it all, the happy middle will include a a degree of suspension of privacy, willingly or unwillingly to feed our addiction.
This is the conundrum of a socialist information society in a capitalist economy.
Tags: digital privacy, privacy, social web
This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 19th, 2010 at 10:44 am and is filed under social media.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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May 20th, 2010 at 6:51 am
Amen. I hope more people read this.
One issue, though: I agree that we can’t fault Facebook for what amounts to trying to make a buck to pay its operating costs and turn a little profit. That’s what makes the world go ’round. But just because the consumers’ jones for the impossible mix of free price point and premium product is more to blame than Facebook doesn’t mean Facebook is in the clear.
For starters, opting all users into these new programs by default is, I believe, pushing it. Even marketers have a higher standard than that, with the common best practice of requiring a significant relationship and/or an explicit opt-in from consumers before sending an e-mail newsletter — you know, to protect their privacy.
May 20th, 2010 at 6:55 am
Twitter Comment
Nice post from @albertmaruggi on privacy, Facebook and the bigger issues at hand here [link to post]
– Posted using Chat Catcher
May 20th, 2010 at 7:08 am
Actually Facebook would now be considered the third largest country. Crazy isn’t it? Check out this ClickZ article that I came across yesterday. Thanks for the post!
May 20th, 2010 at 7:52 am
Mike for sure bro agree with your point. Funny even as both of us are capitalists there is a point in the growth of a company where lines get blurry and definitions of right an wrong develop subtleties that give a false sense of moral cover to certain actions. These are not actions done by bad people, these are actions that occur in the “fog of business”
Your comment on default criteria are similar to the classic telemarketing tactic of continuation marketing. That’s when the telemarket says let me send you out a package to review for 60 days, if you don’t like it cancel and if you do like it your credit card will be billed. That is not right.
So completely agree in that respect Facebook errs on the side of the shady.
PS – reader you can follow Mike on twitter @mjkeliher fun guy.
May 20th, 2010 at 8:47 am
Albert, I loved this post from start to finish, but feel you really nailed it in the comment to Mike. Initially, I thought people were uncomfortable with Facebook’s approach to privacy because it felt like Big Brother, but you’re right, they’re really concerned about FB acting like continuation marketers. I realize we’ll never have true online privacy, but by erring on the side of the shady, Facebook called all of its practices into question.
May 20th, 2010 at 7:23 pm
[...] Maruggi makes the point that consumers shouldn’t trust their privacy to any corporation that is subject to investor [...]
May 21st, 2010 at 6:03 pm
Gregg, good seeing you at SMBMSP today. to follow up on our conversation. The Facebook privacy thing may lead to at type of warning label style Terms & Conditions notifications if that is at all possible. You know instead of lawyer-written paragraphs and subparagraphs it might be in bullets or even better common craft video.
Which brings me to my next big idea. Technology is God, that’s right God. If you combine your web searches and surfing with your credit card transactions, you get a good idea of what someone is thinking and doing 24 hours a day. I think it was Lincoln that said, character is what you do when no one is watching.
Perhaps the privacy thing and the fear of exposing ones every digital move is rooted less in the notion of being exploited by marketers and more in the idea that we are getting dangerously close to not ever being alone with our thoughts. Another aspect is that knowledge of my habits and keywords still is a superficial slice of a person. Does searching on depression mean I’m depressed, or a family member or a report I’m doing for graduate school? Perhaps it’s this incompleteness of information gathered by Facebook and others that may lead to a wrong interpretation is a concern.
Yes deep thoughts these are, and best saved for another pub crawl. thanks for commenting. I’ll chalk these up to more food items for a St. Paul food shelter.
May 22nd, 2010 at 2:05 pm
Twitter Comment
I don’t post comments on many blogs, but @AlbertMaruggi nailed FB privacy. Like sleezy continuation marketing. [link to post]
– Posted using Chat Catcher
May 22nd, 2010 at 2:06 pm
Twitter Comment
Missed this. You do the inspiring, sir. RT @AlbertMaruggi: Ok @GRLitman inspires me to even deeper thoughts on privacy [link to post]
– Posted using Chat Catcher
May 24th, 2010 at 5:02 am
[...] Albert Maruggi talks Facebook privacy [...]