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It's out with the old, in with the new -- and by new, we mean "less privacy" -- at Facebook. CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced at the F8 conference for developers several new changes underway at Facebook, many of which will affect Facebook users. In fact, you may have already seen some if you logged into Facebook yesterday since they are currently rolling out the changes.
The main focus has been on the removal of a few privacy features. The first, according to Gawker, is "allowing the outside websites with which it shares user data to hold on to said data. Previously, the partners were supposed to dispose of the information within 24 hours." In reality, all those Facebook applications were already grabbing your user information, therefore, the only change is that this information can be held and filed for later use. Going hand-in-hand with making things easier for developers (at the cost to users) is moving to a "one-click action" when a user registers for new applications. Now, Facebook is not going to tell you a bunch of warnings as you click to download a new application. It will give you one box, you'll sign off on it with a click, and you'll be on your way to adding a new application.
On the other side of the privacy removal is the new "like button" (or as it's called by developers: the Open Graph API. You should pay close attention to the word "open" in Open Graph). The "like button" is a toolbar that people can use to show people things they like. But it's so much more than simply listing that I love the show Brothers and Sisters and listen to Sufjan Stevens. By utilizing the power of Facebook Connect, the system that allows people to use their Facebook login to enter other sites, the "like button" will be able to connect the universal liker (by which I mean, you) with other information they might like.
PC World shares a story about how the writer's experience with Pandora changed after using the "like button," with Pandora magically scanning the musicians he said he liked on his Facebook page and delivering them to him in the form of songs. It then proceeded to tell him which of his Facebook friends also shared his taste in music. Dan Tynan says, "Facebook is taking the notion of 'friends' more literally than most of its users do, I suspect. That leads to a Too Much Information problem, which its new 'Like' program will only exacerbate." In other words, did you want that person you met at a conference and thought would make a good person to network with in the future to know that you loooooooooooooooooove Celine Dion?
The only way for the "like button" or Open Graph to work is to know as much about you as possible (get that open part now?), which is why Facebook has removed other privacy features. According to Electronic Frontier Foundation, "Facebook removed its users' ability to control who can see their own interests and personal information. Certain parts of users' profiles, 'including your current city, hometown, education and work, and likes and interests' will now be transformed into 'connections,' meaning that they will be shared publicly. If you don't want these parts of your profile to be made public, your only option is to delete them."
See, says Facebook, there is an option -- and it's "don't share."
For the majority of users, people knowing their general location, education, or workplace will not be a big deal. But there are a plethora of situations where someone would not want their personal information broadcast online. And their option now is to either delete it or allow it to be harvested, or as Electronic Frontier Foundation puts it, "Facebook users now face a Hobson's choice between the new Connections and no listed interests at all."
The people who benefit most from the changes are advertisers and those looking to quickly find their target audience. Have a new pair of sneakers to sell? Advertisers will be able to access lists of people who have listed in their profile that they enjoy running. Want to find out a person's political affiliation so you can target your
