last seen 3 days 10 min agoFirst, let me start off by saying that I don't have a Facebook profile. I run across related articles dealing with social networking on IT and privacy sites.
If I'm reading this right, Facebook, and soon Myspace, will be sending alerts to your friends list when you make purchases on websites that sponser "beacon" like Amazon or Ebay.
What I'm not sure about is the default settings for this new ad campaign as concerned to the issue of privacy. This article revealed a potential problem.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/11/21/facebook_moveon_privacy_beacon/
Unsurprisingly, a protest group against the ad program has been set up on Facebook in which users have posted testimonials that say Christmas has been ruined because gifts they have bought have been published on their News Feeds
These articles explain (somewhat) what Beacon is about.
http://www.physorg.com/news113592032.html
http://www.physorg.com/news113659047.html
So, this topic is incomplete. I'm bringing it up to gather your input about the new way Social Networking sites are using your private information for ad revenue.
Does anyone with a facebook profile have any input on this? Has it gone too far?
From http://www.physorg.com/news113592032.html
Social-networking sites like Facebook and News Corp.'s MySpace have been trying to find the best way to profit from the trove of personal data their users put on profile pages. On Monday, MySpace announced an expansion of its targeting program to include more categories and more advertiser
I probably need to start a Privacy on Facebook thread - but for now, this will do.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/11/21/facebook_moveon_privacy_beacon/
Unsurprisingly, a protest group against the ad program has been set up on Facebook in which users have posted testimonials that say Christmas has been ruined because gifts they have bought have been published on their News Feeds
Free software is a matter of liberty, not price. To understand the concept, you should think of free as in free speech, not as in free beer.http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html
"Thanks for the mac badge, Hubby!"
http://www.physorg.com/news113659047.html
http://www.physorg.com/news113592032.html
You know, the more I look a this, the more I regret that I didn't make a topic for this issue.
Look a those articles closely. I think that you really don't have a choice in participating.
Free software is a matter of liberty, not price. To understand the concept, you should think of free as in free speech, not as in free beer.http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html
Q. What if I don't want my friend knowing what I've bought or done?
A. Before an outside site sends information to Facebook through the Beacon, users are asked whether they want the information shared and are reminded the next time they log on. Users can change their privacy settings to always or never share. Fewer options are available for activities at company pages. A user can avoid the activity completely - such as never posting a review or becoming a fan of the company. Or a user can manually remove items individually from the personal News Feed that friends will see, though Chief Privacy Officer Chris Kelly said Facebook had no current plans to offer blanket removal.
It looks to me like the individual news feed is permanent, and probably is what created the ruckus with Christmas shopping purchases being known by friends.
What most likely happened is that the users didn't realize that friends are now getting a news feed about their purchasing activity, so they clicked "share".
My personal opinion is that it appears to be a little underhanded , but one you're educated on the tactic, select "never share".
That's it - this probably isn't the best topic to post Happy Thanksgiving to you all - but at least it's sincere.
Take care
Free software is a matter of liberty, not price. To understand the concept, you should think of free as in free speech, not as in free beer.http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html
This is ridiculous.
http://www.google.com/search?q=beacon+facebook&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a
Using keywords Beacon and Facebook on Google has my post on the topic - third <edit: fourth> - on the search result.
Kudos to Hubbie for site exposure. I've always found that using words specific to Google features or now, maybe this, tends to bring my writings to the limelight.
Yippie (sarcasm).
Now, I'll have to clarify on a topic that doesn't appear to interest anyone.
Who wants to think about privacy, right? Our forefathers didn't think it was important...oh, wait.
Clarifying post to come.
Free software is a matter of liberty, not price. To understand the concept, you should think of free as in free speech, not as in free beer.http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html
"Thanks for the mac badge, Hubby!"
This issue is beginning to receive more attention.
This article deals with the fact that Beacon is still logging your browsing habits and sending the information to Facebook - even if opt out of notifying your friends of your spending habits.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,140182-c,onlineprivacy/article.html
Out of this article I pulled a comment that addressed how to block beacon. I see no reason why you couldn't do this with AdBlock+
Facebook users who also use Firefox to browse the we can prevent facebook's beacon from reporting by doing the following:
download the BlockSite Add-on for The Firefox Browser.
Under the tools menu, select "add-ons"
Select the BlockSite Add-on and edit the preferences.
Under the Blacklist, add a new site with the "add" button.
enter the URL "http://*facebooks.com/beacon/*
Hit return twice and you are good to go.
Looks like there was enough feedback on one of the biggest personal privacy heists ever introduced to the net.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/12/06/facebook_capitulation/
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has issued a mea culpa to his 56 million users, saying he failed to give them the ability to control the personal information that is shared with others. He also announced a new switch that with one flip allows people to completely turn off the feature, which is dubbed Beacon.
I highly recommend that facebook users visit this link and turn the Beacon option off.
http://www.facebook.com/privacy.php?view=unconfirmed_actions
"So where's the data?" "The data? The data is in the freezer."
Conversation with a co-worker after a failed hard drive had been placed in the freezer to stiffen the bearings for one last run.
Okay.
While everyone was pouring over the ads for those insane technology deals that were limited to five per store for "Black Friday",
(marketing really undermines my faith in society's goodwill - now and for future generations - my opinion for all of those here and those that happened to swing by from Google. Principles of Marketing are more akin to Principles of Dishonesty.)
I was reading this from the business section on the local newspaper from the Associated Press.
(I'm not sure who wrote the original article - took the top search result)
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Infotech/Internet_/Facebook_faces_user_complaints/articleshow/2561271.cms
NEW YORK: Some users of the online hangout Facebook are complaining that its two-week-old marketing program is publicizing their purchases for friends to see.
Those users say they never noticed a small box that appears on a corner of their Web browsers following transactions at Fandango, Overstock and other online retailers. The box alerts users that information is about to be shared with Facebook unless they click on "No Thanks." It disappears after about 20 seconds, after which consent is assumed.
Users are given a second notice the next time they log on to Facebook, but they can easily miss it if they quickly click away to visit a friend's page or check e-mail.
"People should be given much more of a notice, much more of an alert," said Matthew Helfgott, 20, a college student who discovered his girlfriend just bought him black leather gloves from Overstock for Hanukkah. "She said she had no idea (information would be shared). She said it invaded her privacy."
Once again, this post is designed to give the members of our "community" a heads-up on how to remain safe with Social Networking.
Free software is a matter of liberty, not price. To understand the concept, you should think of free as in free speech, not as in free beer.http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html