I’m vastly curtailing my Facebook appearances, due to the changes in Facebook, which are going all-out for ‘tracking’ their users. There is also a bill up that would ban this, but since the business concept of these people seems to be less providing a service that involves your clicking on a few pages with ads—and more the ability to market your personal information to interested parties…I no longer believe that if you push the buttons to ‘restrict’ your private information from some users, it will also ‘restrict’ it from Facebook itself gathering the names of all your contacts, their locations, preferences, shopping habits, likes (you’re not allowed to dislike: that might offend certain list-buyers, after all) and political affiliations and anything else you’ve given them—and selling them locally, nationally or internationally. I am told a smartphone can give them a raft of information even when it is shut off, so if you post using one, you could be compromised: fact or fear, I don’t know, but I don’t want to find out. They’re also posting their ‘tracking’ online, so there’s every opportunity for gross abuse, the ability for criminals to know when you’re not home, the ability for stalkers and predators to know where you or your children are. This is damned scary, and this part is quite, unfortunately, implemented.
You also cannot ‘close’ a Facebook site: this should have warned me. Once there, it’s there. So I’ll go up now and again to be sure nothing truly outrageous is happening—or more outrageous than originally done. And invite any of my ‘friends’ there to come here, which is still and always has been my favorite place.
I think it would be hysterical if the bulk of FB users retaliated by starting to creatively and humorously screw with the data in the most outrageous claims of relationship and occupation, I’m the sib of Lady Gaga and a Zoroastrian by religion, and I’m actually a 16 year old guy, it would serve them right. If I go out really mad, beyond the highly incensed I am at the moment, I may just trash all my connections and remove all my friends, who don’t ask to be ‘tracked,’ thank you.
I use my real name but I’ve never provided a mobile, publicized my birthday or address, or linked to anything that requires financial information. In addition to restricting careful what I will say and what information I give them I’ve also begun obfuscating, Facebook will tell you with a straight face that I’m from Constantinople and that I live in a trailer park in DE.
This most recent set of changes has prompted me to think more about commenting on anything since I’ve seen comments from people I don’t know and would never have seen in my own newsfeed in the new right scroll bar. I have long understood that when the service is free you are the product, not the customer, but they’ve exceeded my comfort zone. While I’m not deleting my account at this point I am using it mostly to keep in touch with Remote Parties and my karate organization (Internationally) and doing more email or telephone. I think they have found out they really stepped in it this time and I hope they’ll tighten stuff back down.
Er. Carefully. dur.
I am not on Facebook or MySpace, and increasingly glad I’m not.
I am, however, going to have to figure out what I joined EBay with a few months back. Can’t believe I forgot and apparently didn’t write it down.
That 16 year old guy? He neglected to mention how many jumps his ship did in the last hundred or so years. Or that unfortunate time warp accident because he forgot a couple of calls in his pilot learner’s permit exam, and they’ve been stuck here since the early 1950’s. He’s 16, sort of; more like 216 by the time you figure all the real-time and near-C and hyper-C time dilation. The real trouble is, he still has to redo that pilot learner’s permit. So if you see him driving a car, just…be careful, is all I’m saying. — On the plus side, I heard he got really good at field-stripping a hydrogen fusion generator. Seems the captain thought the young man needed practice. Lots of practice.
Oh, and kidding aside, one of my cats has indeed figured out how to open drawers! It’s only a matter of time until he learns my passwords. He was a str
Make sure you know which drawers the cat wants to get in, and put latches on the ones you don’t want opened. (My parents had a cat who preferred the drawer with the dishtowels in it. The back of the drawer, not the front.)
He w-/ a stray. W-which starship and what planet, he didn’t say. Oops, I probably tripped over a psychic non-disclosure agreement, there.
Definitely tripped over the post button early.
I have had conversations with a few experts in social media. And optimally, things like FB and twitter, are good for creating a presence and a following- but ultimately, that should only be a portal for connecting. Ultimately, it is preferable, for professional reasons, to have users going back to a professional site. I think this was one of the original intended uses for the social media.. now I think going back to a site/ blog/etc.. is a good idea, for a lot of the other reasons.. although, to be fair, with the amount of civil liberties and privacy rights that have been ceded to homeland security… I’m not sure there is such a thing as privacy, anymore. Your papers, please.
Thanks for the heads up. I knew there was a reason I didn’t want to join FB. I have five email addresses — one strictly for blogging, one strictly for family and friends, one strictly for my Kindle, and two to use whenever a site wants my email address and I can’t weasel out of giving it. I also use one of those two as my “Identity” when I’m on line. None of the personal info is correct on any of them — not the sex, or age, or DOB or any of that. I’m reminded of the cartoon of two dogs at the computer. Says the one dog to the other, “On the internet, nobody knows you’re a dog.” — True. Nobody knows if you’re a child molester, serial rapist, or burgler, either. It’s a scary world out there.
In case you missed it, here is a great time-lapse video taken from the International Space Station at night.
It passes over your part of the country, going from north to south.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74mhQyuyELQ
And here’s another great time-lapse video, with really incredible views of the Milky Way. It was taken over 7 days from a mountain in Spain.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUdoLH4imRM
I don’t have a Facebook account. I’m a member of several forums but that’s as far as I go. I don’t trust a lot of this ‘social media’. It bothers me that companies can make money off doing almost nothing. It’s seems to me that it’s all about marketing and advertising these days with precious little genuine innovation or wealth creation.
Bah, humbug 😀
I’m down to my mobile and one browser I use only for Facebook: http://nikcub.appspot.com/logging-out-of-facebook-is-not-enough
I’m getting FB messages (as I shepherd my site over there) that say “near…[fill in city]” as part of the message. Ie, someone’s using a smartphone to post, and FB is very helpfully telling where they are. If somebody was dodging a stalker, all the miscreant would have to do is watch the postings and build a theory of where-when.
You’d really rather your boss not know you’re in Maui this weekend? You don’t want your nosy aunt to know you’re home now? Good luck.
And have you taken note of what the OnStar system (in GM cars) will be doing soon. Even if you don’t subscribe it will be active.
About the only “real” information FB has about me is my email. Other than that, my address happens to be the same as FB Corporate street address and my phone number is their “customer service” number. I studied at Arkham Polytechnic and I’m an Assistant Old One Wrangler at R’lyeh Corporation. My religious views are “no thank you” and my political ones are “slightly to the left of Big Bird”. 🙂
I am here and GLAD of it! This site is a great idea!!
Welcome!
I,m rather pleased to find that I can segregate my facebook “friends” – for months I have been rejecting “friendships” with potters all round the world because I do use fb for a kind of online social life with some others who came off the scifi board – we have a history, and an interest in a mild sort of political discussion occasionally, and in some things that you-all here are interested in – AND that was not something I wanted to share with 100’s of strangers – although the idea of a potter network around the world is attractive – with the new list thing on fb I can put all those potters in a category that doesn’t see all the conversational stuff … and yes, I am careful about what personal info I put on it … as long as you are careful in that regard, it should be fine! 😀
I’ve been trying to tell my nephews who are both in college that they need to be very careful about what they put on their statuses. After all, what goes on Facebook stays on Facebook, and what if a potential employer decided to look at their pages….I wonder if they’d think, “Typical college student behavior, not relevant to the position.” or “Why in the hell would I want that person working for me?” Some of the stuff is funny, but I get a little bit concerned when I read that they’re here getting drunk, or have some bitingly obscene remark about things that are beyond their control.
I’m trying to keep any “tracking” software on FB away from my friends. I don’t want anyone who is trying to maintain their privacy to have it compromised by something I failed to prevent. I’ll be re-reviewing my settings on Facebook to make sure that’s the case.
I know there is a way to keep all your information private on FB. I hooked up with a group from my boarding school/summer camp, and there was one person in particular I wanted to reconnect with. But her info wasn’t on FB. nada. I found another friend from the school… turns out my friend was on FB, but kept her info and existence private in such a way that searches did not turn anything up on her name. she had to friend me first before I could see her. that might be one half-solution. still- problem exists that we live in an age, when far too much info is floating about that can be put together to connect seemingly random dots. and god only knows how much data homeland security has amassed on .. everyone.
It’s, very oddly, the young, should-be-info-age-savvy, who get into some of the worst trouble: bosses and others. How many careers have been ruined by an inappropriate picture popping up. Women are a little more aware of this than young guys, imho: the same “it won’t happen to me” attitude that causes other risk-taking behavior convinces them that their ‘job’ prospect is just not with-it enough to find this stuff on the net—when said button-down corp may have some hired guns that really CAN find it, and just routinely look for it. You’re a political candidate—do you want this picture popping up? You’re applying in security or something that needs a clearance. Yep.
Pity to pay for a high-falutin’ ed-u-cation, and then post a batch of pictures that are absolutely going to be found by any potential employer that bothers to look. Ask the Olympian who got photographed holding a bong…
That’ll lose you sponsors. Fast.
And in the days of cellphone cameras, where everybody in the room is ‘armed’ with a photo record and instant internet access…bad idea.
@purplejulian, if you haven’t already you should join ceramicartsdaily-dot-org. Free and lots of good stuff.
That goes for you too, weeble.
I’ll second ceramicartsdaily! I recommend all my students join too, the info is priceless.
that’s very kind smartcat …