Facebook

[Deleted member 3000]

After a two year hiatus I joined Facebook again with an old email address and very tight privacy controls. I thought it might be a good way to stay in contact with people I had met on my last walk, particularly the Asians.

Almost immediately Facebook began to offer me friends because I was in their email database. It knew a great deal about me even though I had not told it anything. It made assumptive connections simply from two or three data points -- my email, my age, and my name. It kept asking me for my email contacts so that it could do automatic searches to find new "Friends." I always declined, but the number of potential Friends kept increasing as I added the specific persons I had met.

It all goes into a huge database so that commercial interests can pay money to Facebook to sell me stuff.

I did not have to think for very long before I canceled Facebook for a second time. I know I don't trust my government to collect information on me. I don't think I want to trust a private entity, on which I will never get to cast a vote, to do the same thing completely without restraints!

I am off to my meeting of Paranoids Anonymous now.

 

[vagabondette]

yes, it is a giant marketing engine. however, for me it's the only way to stay in daily contact with old friends and new. Traveling/living internationally full time it's not like it's easy to just pick up a phone and chat (plus I *hate* talking on the phone) and I meet tons of new people every day so keeping up with them via email would be a nightmare. It's allowed me to reconnect with people I was close to in my youth but lost track of when I moved to 7 states in 10 years. So, as much as I hate it, I love it.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

It's allowed me to reconnect with people

That is the good purpose. However, it is computing beneath the surface to try to connect you to people you might want to forget, or actively want to avoid. For example, if your email is in the contacts of a former abusive partner, Facebook knows it, and proposes to that person that he/she become your friend! You have been tracked down!!! Selecting your own friends is one thing; Facebook selecting them, or at least proposing them, is another!

 

[Farmer John]

Hi Falcon!

On the perpetual calendar, 1984 recedes each year. On Facebook, 1984 gets closer everyday. Pretty scary in a lot of ways. When you throw in the texting obsession, we even get Orwell's "Newspeak" implemented. There is, of course, lots of good in with the bad. Our widely dispersed extended family has done a better job of keeping up with each other and the ever-expanding list of little ones than we ever did pre-FaceBook.

With 3500 posts, and counting, you are an Institution! Thank you.

FJ

 

[vagabondette]

I don't really get the "you might want to connect with" sidebar any more. Most likely because I ignored it and since I never clicked on it, it went away. I pretty much never look at/interact with the right column so nothing in it bothers me.

As far as privacy goes, on the internet it's non existent. Everything you do from reading the news to shopping to searching for something too embarrassing to buy face-to-face is tracked, recorded and calculated so it can be used to market to you. Facebook is just more blatant about it.

As far as people being able to track you down via your email, best solution: use a new email that no one has. Then you can invite the people you're interested in to join you. FB doesn't force you to add your contact list or use an old email address that's connected to your history so there's no reason to do so except by your choice. Heck, I have several friends who don't even use their real name.

So, you just have to decide which is more important: protecting your privacy (which you can only do by staying off the internet) or connecting with people you care about.

 

[Abbeydore]

Facebook is not for me; vagabondette sounds like you like it
I'm a person who has few friends, maybe a 1000, but not millions :lol:

Really pleased when their shares tumbled a bit, guess they'll rise soon enough! :roll:

 

[CarolineMathieson]

Facebook has been really useful to me for keeping up with people. I have been notoriously bad at that over the years but seeing the occasional posting from them helps me feel I am still in touch. Probably half my friends on there are pilgrims I have met on my various caminos.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

I have several friends who don't even use their real name

And I thought I was paranoid!

 

[anniethenurse]

I have several friends who don't even use their real name

And I thought I was paranoid!

It is up to you if you feel paranoid.

I don´t have anything to hide - and I don´t use my real name on FB either.
I think FB is an easy way to keep in touch with and find camino friends and to keep in touch with my family. That is my purpose with FB.

 

[vagabondette]

Facebook is not for me; vagabondette sounds like you like it
I'm a person who has few friends, maybe a 1000, but not millions :lol:

Really pleased when their shares tumbled a bit, guess they'll rise soon enough! :roll:

*liking it* may be a bit of an overstatement. I consider it a necessary evil which allows me to stay in close contact with the people I care about. I have about 250 friends on FB, 25 of which I connect with on a frequent basis.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

An interesting aspect of Facebook:

We spend a lot of time thinking about what to post on Facebook. Should you argue that political point your high school friend made? Do your friends really want to see yet another photo of your cat (or baby)? Most of us have, at one time or another, started writing something and then, probably wisely, changed our minds.

Unfortunately, the code in your browser that powers Facebook still knows what you typed—even if you decide not to publish it.* It turns out that the things you explicitly choose not to share aren't entirely private.

Facebook calls these unposted thoughts "self-censorship," and insights into how it collects these nonposts can be found in a recent paper written by two Facebookers. Sauvik Das, a Ph.D. student at Carnegie Mellon and summer software engineer intern at Facebook, and Adam Kramer, a Facebook data scientist, have put online an article presenting their study of the self-censorship behavior collected from 5 million English-speaking Facebook users. (The paper was also published at the International Conference on Weblogs and Social Media.*) It reveals a lot about how Facebook monitors our unshared thoughts and what it thinks about them.

The study examined aborted status updates, posts on other people's timelines, and comments on others' posts. To collect the text you type, Facebook sends code to your browser. That code automatically analyzes what you type into any text box and reports metadata back to Facebook.

Storing text as you type isn't uncommon on other websites. For example, if you use Gmail, your draft messages are automatically saved as you type them. Even if you close the browser without saving, you can usually find a (nearly) complete copy of the email you were typing in your Drafts folder. Facebook is using essentially the same technology here. The difference is that Google is saving your messages to help you. Facebook users don't expect their unposted thoughts to be collected, nor do they benefit from it.

 

[lynnejohn]

*liking it* may be a bit of an overstatement. I consider it a necessary evil which allows me to stay in close contact with the people I care about. I have about 250 friends on FB, 25 of which I connect with on a frequent basis.

How did you keep in touch before Facebook?

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Vagabondette has not visited the Forum since Oct. 20, 2012.

 

[Annie Little]

hahaha THAT is why the Facebook…. people go in and out of Forums ….. Falcon may I ask you age ?? wink wink .. i am not young … but realize this is the way of the future and if i wish to keep up with young friends/ grandchildren/ etc stalk my daughters then i need Facebook… BUT now there is instagram !!!! have not got that one yet… better go with the flow I reckon … at least it will hopefully keep dementia at bay .. crossing fingers

http://tvnz.co.nz/world-news/tourist-distracted-facebook-falls-off-pier-5782233

 

[Laliibeans]

I find the targeted advertising an endless stream of amusement on Facebook. Simply based on my gender it always offers me fashion and stuff for kids, so I keep telling it that I find those things offensive. What does it replace them with? Same-sex dating websites...Because if I don't want kids and aren't interested in fashion I must be a lonely lesbian who needs help meeting people. Obviously!

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Falcon may I ask your age ?? attachFull7498

You may.

 

[freescot]

I simply accept that, one way or another, "for our own good" every person on the planet will end up with a number and a huge data file attached. Our personal geo-coordinates will map our caminos through life. But they're not getting their hands on my Credentials.

 

[Steeltown Pilgrim]

Recently I was eyeing a Ukekle on a shopping site. Within days, images of this instrument, together with an offer to purchase, started appearing on many sites I frequented. It was a bit scary, a real eye-opener. However, I resisted and they have finally stopped.
I am on Facebook and love hearing from my pilgrim friends--when I do, it's usually the highlight of my day--really helps keep my camino memories and dreams alive.

 

[jpflavin1]

Facebook get a thumbs down from me.

My main means of communication are text and email, Skype if I want to see your smiling face ;-).

Happy Holidays to all,
Joe (My real name)

 

[t2andreo]

I am on FB, but only so I can keep track of the comings, goings, and doings of my nieces, nephews and younger friends all over the world who live their lives in full view of everyone else on this medium. Also, I screwed down every privacy setting I can find to the most restrictive I can make it and provide the least personal information I can to be allowed to participate. Knowing the power of facial recognition, I also use an avatar image instead of an actual photograph.

I use Facebook. I do not permit it to use me.

The thing everyone must be cautious about is that every time Facebook change their privacy policy, which seems to be about one every 90 days, they insidiously insert new "loopholes" called "features to enhance your experience" in their parlance that serve to share more about you to more people. They usually always offer a means to 'opt out." However, you have to be very careful and detail-oriented to find it and turn the "feature" on or off to plug the leak.

Using social media, any of it, is a constant cat and mouse game. Just be careful out there...

 

[kmrice]

Recently I was eyeing a Ukekle on a shopping site. Within days, images of this instrument, together with an offer to purchase, started appearing on many sites I frequented.

Six years ago, my niece, who is a poet, graduated from high school and I bought her six poetry books at Amazon. When I log in there today, Amazon is still trying to get me to buy poetry.

Reading one of the threads on light weight clothing to take on the Camino, I followed a link which took me to an REI ad for something called "prAna Ramba swimsuit bottoms with wide elasticated waistband." Now each time I log in here, I get a picture of rather scanty ladies' briefs!

Karl

 

[Deleted member 3000]

However, I resisted and they have finally stopped.

They stop faster if you erase your history and cookies, where that data is stored!

I do not permit it to use me.

That is an excellent intention, but Zuckerberg won't let it happen. The article is about Facebook capturing things you begin to type, but do not actually post. Facebook continually tracks where you have gone on the internet even when you are not logged in. If you ever click "Like", it is added to your database, and customized ads will begin arriving. Your computer now will begin posting animated ads, running videos without even asking you if you want them. More ad revenue for Facebook. There is no free lunch. You pay a price to keep in touch with family and friends, and watch those cute kitten videos.

 

[zwerver]

Facebook continually tracks where you have gone on the internet even when you are not logged in.

I'd recommend using the Firefox browser with the RequestPolicy add-on. This enables you to block all requests to Facebook from other websites. Or to Google from sites like this forum. Actually, to any website from any other website. This makes it impossible for the 'bad guys' to follow you around the internet, and puts you back in control of your private information.

And, obviously: don't use Facebook, and don't use Google Inc. owned services like Google, Gmail, Google Maps, Blogger, YouTube, Picasa, FeedBurner, etcetera, etcetera...

But most people choose to ignore the power these companies have. Unfortunately.