Personal information for sale
February 19, 2008
Image Source: www.hackerstickers.com
I wonder if Facebook had sold itself with that tagline how many individuals would have joined it. I must admit that I too have a Facebook page and enjoy sending my Zombies off to fight or sending a virtual gift to a friend on the other side of the continent. When I was setting up my page I quickly realized that there are varied ways to share out your personal information on Facebook. I have had the same three books listed because I realized that I don’t necessarily want others to know what I am reading or what movies I watch or what restaurants that I frequent. I realize that many of friends and colleagues have no problems sharing out this information to their “community” and that is certainly their choice.
Last year, Facebook took this a step further by notifying your friends on Facebook about your recent purchases. This possibility was outlined in the terms of use agreement that you approved when you first set up the account, but really who reads these arcane, legalese, and tiny text agreements? Facebook withdrew this new “feature” after mass outrage from users.
My generation exists on a cusp between those who grew up without computer technology and the Internet and those that did not know life without the world wide web. I personally lean towards the previous generation when it comes to my protecting my personal privacy. The first time, Amazon.com greeted me with a “Hello Paksenn” message I was freaked out. Visions of HAL swam in my head but it was simply a cookie from my computer not a sentient being. I don’t want/need personalized search pages for me on the various websites that I shop frequently. I always ask that my personal information not be saved if that is an option which it usually isn’t any longer on these sites.
Babara Fister wrote an excellent essay on Inside Higher Ed yesterday about Facebook and the implications of giving up so much of ourselves to commercial entities. It reminded me that I have choices when it comes to representing myself online and I need to think carefully what each and every choice could eventually mean. That is, rather than assuming that entities like Google and Facebook have less than mercenary interests in them.
