Facebook Could Get Really Creepy

If you look hard enough, you could probably find similar types of links at any company. Think 6 degrees of separation, we are all connected somehow. Currently I think it's a lot conspiracy theory and we need more data to really conclude anything. Just my 2 cents.

-Jeff
http://edmodo.com

Jeff has a valid point. Virtually everyone falls within 2 degrees of separation of board members (that's usually why they are chosen as board members). You can get from the Nazis to just about anyone in the Fortune 5000 in three links, check out http://www.theyrule.net for some examples...

conspiracy theories are becoming the hip thing, I just heard Willy Nelson say 911 was an inside job and related things on the Alex Jones show, hehe!

Without any need for conspiracy theories, there are still quite many things that could be better in their terms of privacy. They basically have rights to sell any information to anyone to get profit and that don't sound like fair game to me.

This video reminds me of another video:

http://blog.privcom.gc.ca/index.php/privacy-on-...

Even without the second half of that film, it raises interesting points. Although it veers off into tin foil hat territory, the concerns with the privacy policy and the TOS are enough to make me rethink what I post to facebook.

You should always think about what you post on Facebook. Its on the internet, as much privacy as put on your profile it still is a dangerous place. As a senior in college getting ready to graduate and I've been to multiple panel discussions about the use of facebook and how employers are now able to track your history and look at the content you've post to your profile in the past... on top of the terms of service this really makes you rethink what you put on there.

Why does the narrator sound 10 years old?

Because that makes it even creepier. : )

Ok I'm going to play devil's advocate too.

Firstly, Facebook selling information to companies shouldn't come as a complete shock to anyone. If some company is going to find out about my habits via my Facebook page then advertise to me accordingly, they can go right ahead. In the end, I have the choice to open my wallet to those advertisers or not. It's the same as if I see a commercial on TV.

Secondly, governments have always been able to get information about their citizens. OK, having it all in one centralized location is convenient, but it's really nothing new. If anyone is truly paranoid about the government knowing about their habits, they should shut down their bank accounts, cancel their credit cards, stop traveling, and sell their houses.

This presentation, although well done (reminds me of Michael Moore a bit in the delivery) serves only to make people more paranoid. "Big Brother" exists, and frankly, I'd rather they knew a bit about my innocent, boring, average life. Because that means they know about the bad people too, and hopefully can work to protect me, my loved ones, and, yes, even my Facebook friends from them.

Why are people all conspiracy theory Rah Rah? The answer is here http://zeitgeistmovie.com/

I think the scariest thing is not the connection to Government data collectors, but facebook's actual current in-place policy of collecting all of your personal online information off the web, even if you don't have a profile.

Imagine a world where facebook auto generates your profile regardless of whether you use the service or not.

Thanks for this blogpost. I have a candid reaction. I do not adhere to conspiracy theories. I very well remember how the same was (nearly) said about the time when we were posting in Usenet and eventually boards and fora, and conspiracists were telling that the Government had means to track any given sensitive word in your posts.

Then patriot act came and people got afraid about what they could utter over their cell phones.

Now Facebook. Ok. But why on earth would anyone simply comply voluntarily to filling in all the categories that Facebook graciously points you too?

I never studied in the US, so my networks are not even offered. If I search for a 2nd grade classmate, it is so far in time that nobody from there has yet put a toe in Facebook (:-)

If someone is interested in categorizing me as a liberal reader of Tom Sawyer, good for them. I bought some stuff on Amazon and they give me suggestions when I go to their website, I am not particularly drawn to the impulse of saying "yes, yes, yes, let's buy it because the guy next door bought the same book as I did". Etc.

So now my reaction to the video is that this is exactly the same principle: trying to scare me into believing that what they say is the right thing or the truth. We'd better educate our kids (or ourselves) that we are free individuals, and that there is no reason why we should automatically fill in something just because the space is provided to.

Isn't there a little bit of brainwashing there?

Oh and by the way, I loved Orwell's 1984...

Well, first of all Facebook, like many other sites, is FREE - why *shouldn't* they try to make money with all of the media which is being freely submitted to them?

The only safe alternative, if you don't agree with it, is simply not to play.

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Hi Chris,

I never knew all this was taking place. How many people do?

When I try to explain this to my friends, they say "I haven't done anything wrong, it doesn't bother me." How could all this data collect about me impact my life--even if I am not trying to hide anything?

Can you think of any examples (good or bad) how this might impact average Joe's life?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

My Best,
-Allen

What's their point? And who are THEY? It seems they spent more time and energy on nifty graphics than on any responsible investigation of Facebook. As Groucho Marx said, "Love flies out the door when money comes innuendo."

The comments here are a good indication of the average awareness of most of us. We don't often know what is happening behind the scenes, and when we do we will often quickly dismiss it as harmless. In today's world, it may be harmless, and we do not know about the world of tomorrow. The biggest problem, as I see it, is the fact that it is a violation of one of our basic rights. The right to privacy. I don't mean the acts of facebook, because you are agreeing to their terms of service. I am referring to the agencies that are collecting information without our permission. Most Americans couldn't tell you their rights, so it is very easy for those right so be violated and even taken away. Even if it is harmless, where do we draw the line and start standing up for our rights, instead of just worry about ourselves and how does it affect me personally? I think I'll get down off of my soapbox now. Thanks for everyone's comments, whether I agree with them or not.

Very creepy video. I never thought about how my personal information could be shared and easily accessed like that. Makes you think twice about what you share with others. Now I kind of wish I hadn't watched it.

Depending on how much information you had on your Facebook page, he could conceivably figure out your name and a lot of other stuff. When you signed up for your email account, did you put your real name in? If so, and he does email you, do NOT answer as he could get your name that way. And once he has that, combined with knowing your home town, he could do an internet search and find out who and where you are. I would advise being VERY careful about what you put on your Facebook page. Friend's names? Name of your school? That you went out to eat at the McDonald's on Main Street last Wednesday? All of those can be used to track a person down. Sorry, but that's the sad truth.

You risk your personal information being collected as soon as you get on the internet; WhoIS, You Tube, MySpace and even small sites can do this. It's not THAT big of a deal if someone takes what you submitted in a poll and gives it to a company; in fact, that's basically how the industry works.

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