How Facebook taught me to keep a secret

It's become almost routine for Facebook to change their End User License Agreement so that a little more of your privacy is taken away each time. Of course they want to capitalize on your thoughts, preferences and personal experiences for the benefit of their advertisers. With this kind of information their partners can then target their adverstisments towards you hoping that you'll click on whatever it is they're trying to sell at the moment. Without insight into who you are they fall short of their target audience. As such, Facebook needs to make this information available to their partners. As users become more internet savvy, the cry of foul play rings out louder each time your information is made available, and each time Facebook apologizes for not asking you if it's ok first.

The thing that we tend to forget however, is that we as Facebook users are not the client. The business partners that target their advertising towards you are the real clients of Facebook. Afterall, they are the ones that bring in the revenue and as such their needs come before yours or mine. So until that changes, don't expect the apologies to start sounding sincere any time soon. Facebook is going to continue to do what's in the best interests of their real clients.

You're upset by that statement, I can tell, but what did you expect? You pay nothing to be a Facebook user. You capitalize on the free online hosting that Facebook offers you with narry a thought towards paying for it. They host your photo albums, offer you free entertainment in the way of games like farmville, and they provide a medium for you to catch up with old friends, high school classmates, and long lost lovers. They give you an opportunity to network with new people so that you can make new friends and even futre business contacts. People trade products and services, buy and sell goods and all through the free service that is Facebook. All of this in one convenient place! As soon as you start paying for some of those services then I think Facebook will start listening to your concerns. Then their apologies about not meaning to give away your personal information, will start being sincere.

Ok, I can see you're riled up. Truthfully I am on your side. I think it's not right that Facebook can entice us in with a free product only to use us for their nefarious plans. They get us to set up shop, where we are so deeply entrenched, that it becomes difficult to leave or even find a replacement service. Then they go and pull the carpet from under us. It's the old 'bait and switch' model. It's not a very honorable thing for a company to do, if you ask me. If you say that our information is private, then stand behind what you claim and leave it that way. Don't start modifying it inch by inch until you've taken the farm away from us (it's just a figure of speech Farmville users - don't panic, they're not taking away your farm yet!).

I understand that some of the responsibility to protect my data is on my own shoulders. Facebook has started producing updates to let us know that they are making changes in advance of their dasterdly deeds. The fact that it is in a language that I cannot understand (curse you lawyers!) does not make it any less of a warning. I need to be responsible to keep up to date on the changes, prepare for them and make the adjustments accordingly. Once upon a time Facebook used to open up your information without even giving you a way to say "Hey wait a second, I don't want that to be public". At least now when they make it public, you can go and switch it back if you want, as long as you've been reading the notices and updates and have a clue about where to go to make these changes.

Failing the cumbersome task of learning Lawyer-speak and reading through volumes of notices and updates, what are my options? Pay for the service and have a bigger say? Not likely. Even if I did pay for the service, these sort of underhanded machinations by Facebook would likely continue. I suppose that really leaves me with two options.

1. Learn how to keep a secret. That's right. If Facebook insists on sharing everything I tell them (via posting it into my profile), then I will stop telling them things! No more photo's posted, no more status updates, and no more favorites or preferences. I won't list the jobs I have or have had. I won't list the city I'm from, and I won't list anything that gives away who or what I am about. Let them try to share stuff they don't have! Ha that will show them! :o) Of course that just defeats the purpose of using Facebook entirely. If I don't post that stuff, then I can't share it with my friends and family either. They will no longer be able to keep up with what's going on in my life if I don't share it with them. It means I'll have to call them (on the phone god forbid!) and talk to them in person. I can see my friends list shrinking from 200+ to about 3 or 4 people if that happens. It also means that if all my friends and family do the same thing, I won't be able to catch up on what they're doing either. No more instant status message updates on what they ate for supper, what color they dyed their hair, or how destroyed they got at the bachelor party. *sigh* That's no fun.

So that really means if I want to still enjoy a social interaction site without the grief of constantly being vigilant with my information, I will have to find some place else do this stuff from. So that brings me to the 2nd option.

2. I can leave Facebook and find a suitable alternative. *face palm* (wait... what does that mean?). Yes. I can pull up stakes and leave Dodge. I can cash in all my chips and leave the bank with nothing. Yup. Quit Facebook and go somewhere else.

A little dramatic you say? Well, maybe, but it's the principle of the thing isn't it? When Facebook starts loosing membership in record numbers.... they won't have anyone to use for their business model anymore. Their business partners will realize that Facebook is a lost cause and they'll go hunt in more abundant waters (notice the shark reference there). I wonder if Facebook will finally realize then, that we are truly their clients. Without us, there is no Facebook. Hmmmm there's a thought.

In the meantime... I have my twitter account. see you there! @smudged

PS: no - i haven't deleted my Facebook account yet. I have to put my affairs in order so to speak, before I can just walk out on it. Stay tuned though. ;o)