Mathew's comments - Latest Comments in Facebook: Beacon woes are overstated

Re: Facebook: Beacon woes are overstated

Jonathan_Trenn — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 20:48:36 -0000

Oops. In that first line I should have written "it may NOT become a disaster..."

Re: Facebook: Beacon woes are overstated

Jonathan_Trenn — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 20:46:34 -0000

No, Matthew this will not blow over. It may become a disaster, but the earlier news feed controversy happened entirely withing Facebook. People have come to accept that what they do within the confines of Facebook will often be shared with all.

Since this is a matter of individuals user experience making personal choices OUTSIDE of Facebook, it's a whole different ballgame. We may give up some privacy for enhanced user experiences - targeted ads for example. But how do we benefit if all our friends now we just bought a particular product. How does a women benefit if now all of her friends and colleagues on Facebook now know that she just bought three books on coping with sexually transmitted diseases via Amazon? Or a closeted gay man who buys books on homosexuality. How does a guy who just ordered an engagement ring for his girlfriend from another partner site.

I say that we're looking at major potential violations of privacy.

And then there's that other point I touched on. Who benefits? The online store does. Facebook does. Do the purchaser? How? Do his or her friends? How?
So we have to give up our privacy and not benefit. Doesn't make sense.

Re: Facebook: Beacon woes are overstated

zzwannabedjzz — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 20:24:14 -0000

It is hard to say exactly what will happen here. Facebook seems to at times as you said make decisions without possibly any thinking before hand. They force the public to opt in, and then at a later time allow for opting out, in a super complicated way, which I feel is so difficult that most people are stuck with their privacy public for everyone to read. On the other hand, I have seen that it is fairly addicting (I'm agreeing with you here) that reading what everyone else is doing is not necessary, but plenty amusing. We will have to see where this goes, I would not be surprized if they pushed it once again. However, it is becoming much more complicated than a "social network," with all the "widgets" you could call them, and forced advertising.

Re: Facebook: Beacon woes are overstated

mathewi — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 14:12:02 -0000

It's my blog -- I get to say whatever I want :-)

Re: Facebook: Beacon woes are overstated

Antje Wilsch — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 14:09:39 -0000

well maybe porn sites or sex toys shop or wifeswapping.com won't partner, but what about an innocuous site such as amazon or netflix or even target? Maybe I still don't want everyone to know what kind of feminine products I use or what books I'm purchasing. And I NEVER read those disclosures - I just close the windows or click "I agree" to everything (I have no patience).

by the way you can say apeshit in a blog? :)

Re: Facebook: Beacon woes are overstated

mathewi — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 13:55:01 -0000

Thanks for the comment, Andrew. And I appreciate that plenty of
people make purchases or browse on sites that they may not wish to
have revealed to their entire Facebook posse. But will any of those
sites be partnering with the social network anytime soon? That's hard
to say. I think Facebook is probably just as eager to maintain a
certain level of decency as its users are.

Re: Facebook: Beacon woes are overstated

andrewgoodman — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 13:44:15 -0000

Mathew,

1. Not everyone restricts their purchases to dainty things like coffee tables and throw rugs. I'd predict that Beacon if implemented as stated will make past episodes of "shitstorm" and "apeshit" look like a light drizzle and a petting zoo, respectively, by comparison.

2. It's opt-out??!?!

Re: Facebook: Beacon woes are overstated

leigh — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 10:35:33 -0000

Did i say totally? I meant mostly, you are mostly wrong....
Which of course, makes me, totally right.

;-)

Re: Facebook: Beacon woes are overstated

mathewi — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 09:46:02 -0000

That's a good point, Leigh -- Canada's privacy commissioner may have
something to say about Beacon, just as she did about Google's
StreetView.

As for the opt out choice, I think that appears on a case-by-case
basis at the site you're on when you buy or do something. I haven't
actually seen one.

And you are free to disagree with me, of course, as always -- although
by definition that makes you wrong. :-)

Re: Facebook: Beacon woes are overstated

leigh — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 09:29:27 -0000

I totally diagree with you M..Letting me "discover" that I am being tracked outside of facebook and that they are co-relating that info to me personally is not only a potential violation of bill C6 here in Canada (where the burden of disclosure happens to be on the Corporation in question and NOT the user), it's a complete abuse of trust with their community. Which IMO is integral to the long term viability of facebook.

Ok enough of that. I coudn't find an OPT out link - can you point me to it?

Re: Facebook: Beacon woes are overstated

mathewi — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 08:20:02 -0000

Antje, I can see how some people would definitely feel that way -- and
that's why there needs to be some flexibility. And I expect if the
backlash is big enough, it will change.

Re: Facebook: Beacon woes are overstated

mathewi — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 08:19:02 -0000

Yes, that's true Mario. He may have to do the same here.

Re: Facebook: Beacon woes are overstated

Mario Sundar — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 02:42:06 -0000

Matthew,

I love the new redesign of the blog. Just blogged on Beacon. I believe the furore over news feed, did not subside until changes were made and Mark actually apologized | http://tinyurl.com/y3fedz

Re: Facebook: Beacon woes are overstated

Mark — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 02:03:34 -0000

good post, my sentiments exactly!

Re: Facebook: Beacon woes are overstated

Antje Wilsch — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 00:19:19 -0000

I disagree with you on this one. I think people's actions outside FB (e.g. shopping at Overstock) have nothing to do with their online personal interaction and behavior inside their social networks and should be one's own choice whether to broadcast their online habits with others. Do I really want people who know me to know what I surf, read, and shop for online?

Is it a wonder that people are looking at the Experience Project with interest? It still kind of freaks me out when I click on a link in somehwere and end up on another blog that's a part of MyBlogLog and it automatically shows that I was there reading it. I didn't sign up to be shown as a reader on that blog (and tacitly give my "endorsement" by showing I was there reading it). For my regular reads, that's fine, but not my random web surfing. I think it's creepy and feels invasive. I asked Yahoo about it and they said I had to log out and completely clear my cache to remove my path (even logged out it still showed me when I was reading a blog).

Re: Facebook: Beacon woes are overstated

mathewi — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 00:02:01 -0000

Maybe I am simplifying, Sean. But what are the implications of
Beacon, when it gets right down to it? That one's friends get
notified when you buy a coffee table or a movie at Blockbuster? Not
exactly the end of civilization as we know it, I would argue. And if
it happens enough and people get upset, then I expect that Facebook
will change the way it works.

Re: Facebook: Beacon woes are overstated

Sean McDonald — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 23:54:04 -0000

perhaps you're over simplifying just a little bit here? the average user won't understand the implications of beacon... transparency is an issue... amongst others. sure it will blow over, but that doesn't make the reaction uncalled for.