Facebook Beacon
Wow, I’m just catching up on all the Facebook Beacon talk that is ongoing. I had originally read Geoff Livingston’s post, but spent last night reading what had to be said by many of the other social media folks. This is very disturbing, but not entirely surprising.
We applaud loud and clear when companies are “open”, just look at the reaction Verizon is getting from yesterday’s announcement. Google Open Social….yippeee; Open API…yeah; Open Bar…Oh Yeah! At the same time folks, myself included, are more than willing to throw their information all over the web from photos to videos to vital stats. Fortunately I’m not this gal, although she had much better hair.
If on one hand we are clamoring for openness, how do we then balance that with the ability to keep some of this private? Charlene Li dives into this a bit, and I think she is onto something when she discusses how it may be as simple as allowing this as an opt-in, rather than the opposite. It also shows how Facebook is failing in actually communicating with their community. Where are they in explaining this to me?
In the past, Facebook has responded when folks have complained, I’m hoping this is one of these times. But the macro level story is that we DO need to create rules when it comes to personal information we put into a social network. But one has to ask; where is the uproar over all of this beyond a focused group of people? In the large scale of the Facebook world it seems like people are OK with this happening. Have we just become desensitized to all of our information being used for marketing purposes? Have we lost our fight?
I think we need to stop blogging about it in separate silos and band together physically to begin discussing this topic and actually setting down rules that these corporations must follow. Perhaps it is at the Internet Identity Workshop as Doc Searls suggests, perhaps it is somewhere else, but it must happen.
My suggestion for now; read the terms of agreement before you press ‘Agree’.
/kff
November 29th, 2007 at 9:32 am
Full disclosure: Verizon Wireless used to be a client of mine. They are not an open culture. I doubt that they get it. This is a reaction to Google and Cisco playing in the wireless space…
As a former wireless reporter, I doubt either of these newbies really understands wireless either and I have serious doubts about Android. Both Motorola and IBM tried to create wireless data networks in the nineties and they got their asses kicked by the conventional telephony cos.
I see no reason why Cisco or Google will understand the dynamics of RF modeling and diverse device, RPU or any of the many other factors that go into creating a successful wireless business. Mark my words, I think a little silcon valley humble pie is going to be dished out.