Many people, including myself, have been disturbed in recent months by Facebook’s complete lack of customer care as they have added and removed features at will and changed privacy policies at will.
I was even more disturbed when I read the article “Facebook CEO ‘Doesn’t Believe In Privacy’“ at the Huffington Post.
When it comes to privacy issues I know I freely give up a lot of information every day. When I use my shoppers club card at the grocery store, when I use my membership card at B&N, when I shop at Amazon and even when I use my credit card my purchases are tracked, categorized and used to market even more stuff to me.
I know data mining is being done across the board. I also know that there is a lot of public information available about everyone if you know where and how to look.
I am not against data mining, it is just that there seems to be a very cavalier attitude developing around it and people’s privacy, and Facebook is the leader in attitude.
What do we do?
Facebook as a ‘friend’ has allowed me to connect with family and friends, meet new friends and grow my business. I enjoy chatting with people on Facebook and staying up to date on life’s little things.
Facebook as a ‘foe’ though has me questioning whether I should be using a product and supporting a dictatorship like regime where I am no more than a cog in the wheel, usable and expendable; where I’m not respected as an individual or a customer.
I wonder where our support will lead? Are we saying it is okay to abuse and violate our trust? If we continue to condone such behavior with private companies will it grow larger and cross over into government? Will we lose respect for each other as individuals?
Am I just upset because Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, is so young and seems disrespectful? Is it because of his age that he feels he can express what is common in the industry, but not discussed aloud?
I’m not sure.
It does scare me. It’s the level of disrespect that scares me and the potential of where it will lead if I (we) continue to trade benefits for costs. What will the long-term costs be? And, will it have been worth it?
I don’t have any answers. Today I only have questions, doubts and fear.
What are your thoughts?
Article of interest from CNN.com: Google’s nightmare: Facebook ‘Like’ replaces links
That is a very good point, Mary. I consider a customer as anyone who “uses or experiences the services” of a service provider or an individual. In today’s’ world there are many ‘free’ services and just because we are not paying for the service (yet) does not mean that our support should be disregarded or disrespected. If there were no users/customers there would be no Facebook and no Facebook advertisers.
Sandy
Sandy, I have a question. I don’t use Facebook for several reasons, some of which you covered in your article. But I noticed that you referred to yourself as a “customer”. Do you pay Facebook for using it? If not, you aren’t a customer, you are a user. From a business perspective, there’s a huge difference. Customers are people who are buying goods and services from you. For Facebook, I would consider their “customers” to be their advertisers. Maybe they do too. (Or maybe I’m misinformed about it being free to use.)
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I always tell people if you wouldn’t share something with a complete stranger in the grocery store, don’t share it on the internet.
Too bad that Facebook has become a problem for you. I know a lot of people love it. Unfortunately, in the digital age, it’s almost impossible to maintain even a semblance of privacy since we have to give out a lot of personal information just to function. Each time we use a credit or debit card that information is stored on a computer somewhere. And, there are cameras that can take our pictures almost everywhere we go (traffic cameras, store cameras, the bank, even the gym).
However, it seems everyone has forgotten that Facebook is first and foremost a business and as such, the owner has the right (within legal restrictions) to run the business as he sees fit. He doesn’t have to approve any changes with the “employees” (users) beforehand if he doesn’t want to. Granted, Zuckerberg should be focusing more on customer satisfaction, but it’s his prerogative not to do so.
I also think most people today have a cavalier attitude towards privacy issues. The seemingly anonymous nature of the Internet has lulled most people, young people especially, into complacency and a false sense of their own security. Just because you have a “private” account on Facebook, Twitter, etc., doesn’t mean that all of the company’s employees can’t access it or for that matter, any first-rate hacker. Their “privacy” policies are only as good the owner’s word on that particular day. Due to the way a computer stores data, your personal information can never be completely deleted from the public record unless the server or servers it’s stored on are physically destroyed, which is unlikely. The deleted information just becomes inaccessible to all but a handful of programming experts.
The Internet is and always will be a public place. Business owners can run their businesses any way they see fit. Their behavior will only change when their customers do.
If you’re concerned about privacy and your personal information, don’t put anything on the Internet that you wouldn’t say standing in the middle of the street, screaming at the top of your lungs.
Thanks, Christine. You bring up some very good points. And, one other thing I forgot to mention, is that people should take the same precautions online as they would offline when dealing with strangers. For instance, don’t talk about where your children go to school or where they play. Protect your own identity and family’s privacy.
Also, I consider myself pretty tech savvy, but even I have a difficult time keeping up or even understanding all the changes Facebook is making.
Sandy
To play devil’s advocate here…and because I taught a unit on the concept of privacy at a private school (ha!).
There is some evidence to support that we actually have more personal privacy than ever. Stay with me. Especially if you live in a larger area where anonymity CAN be maintained. (That is why I loved my GIANT undergrad university.)
Think back even 100 years when small villages contained people who knew EVERY LITTLE THING ABOUT YOU.
Now your next door neighbors probably barely know your name.
Social networking is complicated because we are not FORCED to join. So yes, in that particular context, privacy does NOT exist but by virtue of the medium and the implied consent when you log in and start writing about what you had for brekky.
And humans have always been tracked by their governments. The methods are just faster now since they don’t entail…well, actual TAILING or paper and pen.
My question is really…WHAT do we think FB “has on us” and to what end? What is the underlying fear that is driving the discussion?
They might sell info to advertisers? Well…yes…there are a million ways that you are surrounded by people already doing that. And besides, we still have the inherent human right to simply say No.
FB is evil. I only got on FB for the social aspects. I really resent their constantly changing things around so often it is hard to keep up with them. I even had to become a “Fan” of FB’s support page in order to see the updates, which, of course, I’m not likely going to check every flipping day, if I remember at all. Why? So they don’t have to bother sending emails announcing all of their changes, perhaps? Grr!
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Sandy Dempsey. Sandy Dempsey said: Facebook: Friend or Foe? What are your thoughts? http://ow.ly/1FcTi [...]