Facebook and privacy seems to be a topic that crops up now and then. Honestly I really don’t understand all the hoopla about it – it’s very easy to keep things private on fb: don’t post it!
So by posting things you should really know that chances are good other people might see/read/comment on it – so if this freaks you out, maybe the way to go is to take responsibility for your own privacy on the net, and not rely so heavily on systems to protect you.
In line with this Dave Lee King posted about fb and privacy and I complete agree with him. Here’s a little snippet:
First, there’s the “update me with your stuff” things, like status updates, new photos, and new videos:
- If you want those to be private, you shouldn’t post them. Period.
- Hello! Nothing’s private on the web. Even on Facebook.
- If you want to share a status update with just some people, you can do that. Which is more than Twitter gives you.
Basic info, like:
- Name: um … don’t open a Facebook account if you don’t want to share your name.
- Gender: That’s rather apparent, isn’t it? Is it bad that you know I’m a guy?
- Birthday: Hmm. I don’t really care. Should I?
- Relationship Status: OK – so I have a recently divorced friend, and it was rather painful to watch his relationship status go from married to single to it’s complicated … back to single, etc. Maybe a case of sharing too much info, rather than one of privacy. So if your life’s on a rollercoaster ride … don’t fill that one out.
- Current city: big whoop. Google already knows this.
- Hometown: That’s sort of important when connecting with past schoolmates.
Religious and Political views: I have em. So does everyone else.
The New York Times also posted an InfoGraphic on Facebook Privacy that’s quite interesting (It’s small, so click on the NY link for a bigger version):
And a cute cartoon:
