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THE BRIEF: How Facebook users are being used
Wednesday January 19th 2011By TO411Daily Columnist
Linda Chandler
When screenwriter Aaron Sorkin picked up his Golden Globe for The Social Network Sunday night, he called the real Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, an ‘altruist’.
An altruist is someone who believes that the general welfare of society is the proper goal of an individual’s actions.
Either Sorkin had a lot to drink, or, Zuckerberg just made a deal with him to underwrite his next three films, which would run exclusively on the Facebook platform.
Ironically, looking after the general welfare of the 500-million-plus Facebook users (worldwide) is Facebook’s weak spot and at the core of this week’s controversy with Zuckerberg’s company. The world’s largest Social Network has long dealt with privacy issues. In large part because the concept of privacy conflicts with the company’s mission to “make the world more open and connected.”
On the irksome subject of privacy protection, Zuckerberg summons his whole 25 years of life experience to explain, “People are learning how to use the site and what’s OK to share. As time goes on, people will learn what’s appropriate, what’s safe for them – and learn to share accordingly.”
‘Sharing accordingly’ appears to be at the crux of the problem for Facebook this week.
The problem for users was signing up to gain access to the free social games which live on the Facebook platform. Games from Zygna, such as FarmVille, CityVille and Mafia Wars, have grown into a major pastime. But it wasn’t long before users realized that the convenient and easy permission box for access to the APP required far too much sharing – As in users’ mobile numbers and current addresses.
“In a carefully-worded blog posted Tuesday at 2:25 a.m., Facebook outlined the benefits of the expanded sharing options, and they noted that the company would be disabling the “feature” for several weeks to make changes to the tool that enabled Facebook app developers to access users’ private information.”*
Internet security firm Sophos warned that the third-party policy could “herald a new level of danger for Facebook users,” noting, “the ability to access users’ home addresses will also open up more opportunities for identity theft, combined with the other data that can already be extracted from Facebook users’ profiles. Facebook is already plagued by rogue applications that post spam links to users’ walls, and point users to survey scams that earn them commission – and even sometimes trick users into handing over their cellphone numbers to sign them up for a premium rate service. Now, shady app developers will find it easier than ever before to gather even more personal information from users.”
“Inside Mobile Apps”, Facebook’s new Wikileak-alike tool dedicated to helping developers and analysts who need to track the convergence of mobile apps, social platforms and virtual goods is clearly not in the best interest of the over 500 million Facebook users.
The following is an IM exchange with 19-year-old Mark Zuckerberg after he launched The Facebook in his Harvard dorm room:*
Zuck: Yeah so if you ever need info about anyone at Harvard. Just ask. I have over 4,000 emails, pictures, addresses, SNS.
[Redacted Friend’s Name]: What? How’d you manage that one?
Zuck: People just submitted it. I don’t know why. They “trust me. Dumb f*cks!”
Sources: TT
- Associated Press
- The Huffington Post Bianca Bosker, First Posted: 01/17/11 10:55 AM Updated: 01/17/11 05:29 PM
- Zuckerberg’s IM message: anecdotal
—–
Comment to Linda at this address: thebrief@to411.com.
LinkedIn // Facebook // Twitter
Front Page, Industry News
THE BRIEF: How Facebook users are being used
Wednesday January 19th 2011By TO411Daily Columnist
Linda Chandler
When screenwriter Aaron Sorkin picked up his Golden Globe for The Social Network Sunday night, he called the real Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, an ‘altruist’.
An altruist is someone who believes that the general welfare of society is the proper goal of an individual’s actions.
Either Sorkin had a lot to drink, or, Zuckerberg just made a deal with him to underwrite his next three films, which would run exclusively on the Facebook platform.
Ironically, looking after the general welfare of the 500-million-plus Facebook users (worldwide) is Facebook’s weak spot and at the core of this week’s controversy with Zuckerberg’s company. The world’s largest Social Network has long dealt with privacy issues. In large part because the concept of privacy conflicts with the company’s mission to “make the world more open and connected.”
On the irksome subject of privacy protection, Zuckerberg summons his whole 25 years of life experience to explain, “People are learning how to use the site and what’s OK to share. As time goes on, people will learn what’s appropriate, what’s safe for them – and learn to share accordingly.”
‘Sharing accordingly’ appears to be at the crux of the problem for Facebook this week.
The problem for users was signing up to gain access to the free social games which live on the Facebook platform. Games from Zygna, such as FarmVille, CityVille and Mafia Wars, have grown into a major pastime. But it wasn’t long before users realized that the convenient and easy permission box for access to the APP required far too much sharing – As in users’ mobile numbers and current addresses.
“In a carefully-worded blog posted Tuesday at 2:25 a.m., Facebook outlined the benefits of the expanded sharing options, and they noted that the company would be disabling the “feature” for several weeks to make changes to the tool that enabled Facebook app developers to access users’ private information.”*
Internet security firm Sophos warned that the third-party policy could “herald a new level of danger for Facebook users,” noting, “the ability to access users’ home addresses will also open up more opportunities for identity theft, combined with the other data that can already be extracted from Facebook users’ profiles. Facebook is already plagued by rogue applications that post spam links to users’ walls, and point users to survey scams that earn them commission – and even sometimes trick users into handing over their cellphone numbers to sign them up for a premium rate service. Now, shady app developers will find it easier than ever before to gather even more personal information from users.”
“Inside Mobile Apps”, Facebook’s new Wikileak-alike tool dedicated to helping developers and analysts who need to track the convergence of mobile apps, social platforms and virtual goods is clearly not in the best interest of the over 500 million Facebook users.
The following is an IM exchange with 19-year-old Mark Zuckerberg after he launched The Facebook in his Harvard dorm room:*
Zuck: Yeah so if you ever need info about anyone at Harvard. Just ask. I have over 4,000 emails, pictures, addresses, SNS.
[Redacted Friend’s Name]: What? How’d you manage that one?
Zuck: People just submitted it. I don’t know why. They “trust me. Dumb f*cks!”
Sources: TT
- Associated Press
- The Huffington Post Bianca Bosker, First Posted: 01/17/11 10:55 AM Updated: 01/17/11 05:29 PM
- Zuckerberg’s IM message: anecdotal
—–
Comment to Linda at this address: thebrief@to411.com.
LinkedIn // Facebook // Twitter
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Front Page, Industry News
THE BRIEF: How Facebook users are being used
Wednesday January 19th 2011By TO411Daily Columnist
Linda Chandler
When screenwriter Aaron Sorkin picked up his Golden Globe for The Social Network Sunday night, he called the real Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, an ‘altruist’.
An altruist is someone who believes that the general welfare of society is the proper goal of an individual’s actions.
Either Sorkin had a lot to drink, or, Zuckerberg just made a deal with him to underwrite his next three films, which would run exclusively on the Facebook platform.
Ironically, looking after the general welfare of the 500-million-plus Facebook users (worldwide) is Facebook’s weak spot and at the core of this week’s controversy with Zuckerberg’s company. The world’s largest Social Network has long dealt with privacy issues. In large part because the concept of privacy conflicts with the company’s mission to “make the world more open and connected.”
On the irksome subject of privacy protection, Zuckerberg summons his whole 25 years of life experience to explain, “People are learning how to use the site and what’s OK to share. As time goes on, people will learn what’s appropriate, what’s safe for them – and learn to share accordingly.”
‘Sharing accordingly’ appears to be at the crux of the problem for Facebook this week.
The problem for users was signing up to gain access to the free social games which live on the Facebook platform. Games from Zygna, such as FarmVille, CityVille and Mafia Wars, have grown into a major pastime. But it wasn’t long before users realized that the convenient and easy permission box for access to the APP required far too much sharing – As in users’ mobile numbers and current addresses.
“In a carefully-worded blog posted Tuesday at 2:25 a.m., Facebook outlined the benefits of the expanded sharing options, and they noted that the company would be disabling the “feature” for several weeks to make changes to the tool that enabled Facebook app developers to access users’ private information.”*
Internet security firm Sophos warned that the third-party policy could “herald a new level of danger for Facebook users,” noting, “the ability to access users’ home addresses will also open up more opportunities for identity theft, combined with the other data that can already be extracted from Facebook users’ profiles. Facebook is already plagued by rogue applications that post spam links to users’ walls, and point users to survey scams that earn them commission – and even sometimes trick users into handing over their cellphone numbers to sign them up for a premium rate service. Now, shady app developers will find it easier than ever before to gather even more personal information from users.”
“Inside Mobile Apps”, Facebook’s new Wikileak-alike tool dedicated to helping developers and analysts who need to track the convergence of mobile apps, social platforms and virtual goods is clearly not in the best interest of the over 500 million Facebook users.
The following is an IM exchange with 19-year-old Mark Zuckerberg after he launched The Facebook in his Harvard dorm room:*
Zuck: Yeah so if you ever need info about anyone at Harvard. Just ask. I have over 4,000 emails, pictures, addresses, SNS.
[Redacted Friend’s Name]: What? How’d you manage that one?
Zuck: People just submitted it. I don’t know why. They “trust me. Dumb f*cks!”
Sources: TT
- Associated Press
- The Huffington Post Bianca Bosker, First Posted: 01/17/11 10:55 AM Updated: 01/17/11 05:29 PM
- Zuckerberg’s IM message: anecdotal
—–
Comment to Linda at this address: thebrief@to411.com.
LinkedIn // Facebook // Twitter
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