Facebook Privacy Issues: Changing Society or Just a Smart Business Move?
Published by Ryan Healy on January 17th, 2010 in Work | 6 CommentsLast week, following the recent changes in privacy settings, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said that if he were to create Facebook again today, user information would be public by default.
Personally, I think Facebooks recent shift in privacy settings was a smart move. For the social web to truly be “social,” data must be freely available to everyone.
Twitter understood this when developing their service and we understood it when deciding to make Brazen Careerist open. Also, as services like Twitter, Blogging and Brazen Careerist have become more and more prevalent, people seem to be less concerned with online privacy. I’m conscious of what I say online, and I have nothing to hide, so privacy is a non factor for me.
But the real reason I think it’s a smart move for Facebook is because opening the site will improve their bottom line. When you open everything up, people become much more aware of what they post and what they don’t post online. And when 350 million people are consciously monitoring what they post, the number of beer bonging photos and mentions of last night’s illegal escapades will go way down. When these things go way down, advertising rates go way up..
However, this post by Greg Tracy made me think of the issue in a whole new way. Tracy argues that privacy absolutely matters for Facebook, and Twitter and blogging are terrible data points. They are poor data points because Facebook is different. Facebook is supposed to be an online extension of your everyday offline life. Offline, you have private conversations with your neighbors on the sidewalk or with your coworkers at the water cooler. These conversations would never be shouted for a neighbor down the street to hear you or for your boss in the corner office to find out what's going on.
Tracy goes on to say that people aren’t changing and Facebook will not make them change. Facebook is merely a new medium to do the same things we have always done. Twitter and Blogging are very different. Twitter and Blogging are not supposed to be an extension of your offline life. They are meant for public consumption, just like newspapers, magazines and television are meant for public consumption.
Tracy makes an excellent point. Facebook could be making a huge mistake by following the lead of Twitter and other new, open sites. But, it could also very well be that they recognize there is no money in being an extension of offline life, and they are making the smartest business decision they can by downplaying privacy.
If Facebook truly wants to be the place where you live your life online the same way you live your life offline, they are making a mistake by downplaying privacy issues. You can change the medium, but you can’t change how people fundamentally behave.
However, if Facebook believes that they are not merely a new medium to do what you have always done, but instead they are a new media tool designed to give people a brand new way to behave and communicate, then Facebook is on the right track.
I’m sure Facebook will go whatever route can make them the most money, but whichever way they decide to go, they’re going to piss some people off, and they’re going to leave the door wide open for a new service to come along and fill in where Facebook does not.
What do you guys think? Is privacy a major issue for you? Do you agree with Zuckerberg?
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Leave your thoughts here. (6 responses)
This article´s comments All Employee Evolution commentsLarry
Jan 18th, 2010 at 8:48 amPrivacy on Facebook goes way beyond a potentially embarrassing photo or status post. Facebook is publishing to the world, enough identifiable attributes of people to allow a very bad person to physically track them down. Too many users just have no idea how Facebook identifiers can be supplemented with a simple Google search to completely tear down most barriers to what they might expect to not be disclosed.
With a real name, a photo, connections of the friends list, relationships, any internet stranger can Google or use a service like Intelius to zero in on startling details.
Public disclosure of property transfers and real estate assessments all over the internet would reveal the person's street address. I would love to poll every Facebook user and ask them if they realize this.
You may not mind your wife or girlfriend's bikini shot on Facebook but do you want the weirdo that found it to know her home address?
Thanh Lu
Jan 18th, 2010 at 11:38 pmRyan, I think this is a great post. I agree with your statement: You can change the medium, but you can’t change how people fundamentally behave.
But I am disappointed, maybe not necessarily at your personally, but about the general comment: I’m sure Facebook will go whatever route can make them the most money…
Google is taking a similar stance but they face losing their 384 million (as per Bloomberg) online users if their unfiltered search is against China's way.
I'm disappointed because it illustrates that perhaps even the Zuckerberg's of the world need more money, or that you think smart business moves are all short-term profit motivated, or that you don't have faith that social media giants have moral grounds and identity.
-Thanh
Beth
Jan 19th, 2010 at 11:34 amHey Ryan! good ideas here. I really hadn't thought about the positive reasons why Facebook would make these decisions, so it was really good to hear your perspective. I myself left Facebook approximately a year and a half ago, and am considering an edited return – i.e. not using it as an extension of my college days, but more of who I am now. I think its an interesting concept of trying to expand public and private web life to engage multiple sites at the same time (i.e. Facebook being the same as Twitter or Blogging.)
Great post
Ryan Healy
Jan 19th, 2010 at 8:25 pmHey guys, thanks for the comments and glad you liked the post!
I agree that the best business move is not always short term profits, and Im sure Zuckerberg would agree too. I really do think that privacy is becoming less and less important and as Facebook and Google push things to be more open this will make it an even bigger topic.
I don't believe Facebook or Google are being immoral by making these changes, they are simply recognizing a trend and pushing that trend on the masses. The trend is towards being open and managing what you say, this also happens to make it easier to make more money. Ultimately, people can decide if they want to stay with the services or move on to the next one, because you know there will always be a next one!
@Beth -I think you should absolutely get on, but use it for who you are now. That's what all these sites are for.
Ryan
Rachel
Jan 19th, 2010 at 9:03 pmI disagree. People forget that Facebook only became big because of it's privacy. Otherwise it would have just been another myspace knock-off. What made it big was the security that college students had knowing it was only other college students.
Lindsey Donner
Mar 8th, 2010 at 6:05 pmHi Ryan,
I agree with you from a business perspective about the shift in privacy at Facebook.
But I also agree with Tracy to an extent, and perhaps that's simply because of the way I personally use Facebook. (Another post you might appreciate for a user-centric view: http://www.brazencareerist.com/2010/02/25/thanks-for-the-advice-but-im-not-deleting-any-facebook-photos from Carlee Mallard on Brazen Careerist. Check out the comments!)
The way the community at FB evolved led me to feel that it was an extension of my offline life; consequently, yes, there are a few photos, comments, and language I would prefer to remain private. On the flip side, I "manage" my online life – WordPress, Twitter, company URL, etc. – very closely; that's the side I'm OK with having 100% open. On Brazen Careerist, too!
I am actually in the process of writing an article on this subject for my work at a wonderful internet startup called iGrad in Southern California: http://www.myiGrad.com (beta launch version) . The company philosophy is to provide a community and an expert view on issues of financial literacy near and dear to recent college grads' hearts. I wanted to write a piece that explained my view of the best way to use social media when you're entering the work force.
Unfortunately, like you,I'm on the fence. I don't have anything to hide, but how can I reasonably tell a 19 year old student just a few years younger than me to go free and public everywhere? (When even I keep my FB photos private – more for a sense of modesty and general privacy issues like Larry stated.) What about a grad entering the work force? I'm really curious about your view when it actually comes to advising a 22 year old graduate with a few party photos and potentially insecure information on their Facebook page.