frauke at large

With the social networking site turning 5 last week and this blog turning 1 today, I felt compelled to write something about …

… why F*cebook is just not my cup of tea. Those who doubt its value to humanity: it allows anyone in the world a free platform for broadcasting what they are doing and therefore staying in touch with their friends and family. Thus, sofar it’s been the best attempt yet at creating a container for us to bring our real-world friends together in an online community; certainly something that I value, as my regular travels bring a consistent trickle of new friends into my life, whilst others drop off the radar … By rolling up features such as: uploading photos, sending messages, playing Scrabble or checking out new music and more into one well-designed, easy-to-use website (all things that you can do perfectly well elsewhere online), has meant that millions have signed up.

Yet, there has been one serious issue in particular that has kept me away from it: privacy. F*cebook insists that you use your own name rather than an alias when you sign up (anyone opting for an obviously fictitious surname will have their account suspended) so anything one chooses to reveal on the site, from birthdate, to taste in music or an enthusiasm for abseiling is inextricably linked to you and stored for posterity!!! – even if you decided to close your account. Not the same with a blog … a) you can be as generic as you like (see this blog), b) you can use a false or fictitious name and c) if you delete your page … it has gone – including all it’s information! Even the feature that only your friends can see your profile can be replicated on a blog … just lock your entries with a password.

Furthermore, as F*cebook’s value as a company is almost entirely related to its ability to target advertising at its users in the sidebar of the website, it could be accused of almost disingenuously persuading users to reveal as much information as possible for their own benefit and amusement, when, in fact, that information has a cash value, of which users never see a penny. If you take the value of that information vis-a-vis the money you would spend on a domain name and blog for 5 years, you are being ripped off. Personal information is worth millions to advertising firms, whereas a blog page comes in at just over $100 for 5 years – not to mention the fact that you can get a free blog from various online providers and you don’t get advertising on them. F*cebook’s introduction of a system called ‘Beacon’, which quietly gathered additional information about its users and their purchases from participating sites in order to further hone their advertising techniques, was another perfect example of a gross intrusion of privacy. It has since been dropped.

And here’s another thing: are people actually aware that they are happy to divulge minute-to-minute updates of their lives on F*cebook or indeed via Twitter, but are unhappy with the ‘surveillance society’ we live in? Ignorance or hypocrisy? Are you sure that your profile information will not, one day, also be accessed by someone other than most global advertising companies? Call me a cynic … and yes, I see the irony of having a blog and divulging my personal opinions on this matter, but then … it’s just an opinion and not minute-to-minute update on my life.

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