Privacy a Concern for Buzz, Facebook, and Others
Privacy online is becoming more and more nebulous. Facebook is the biggest, and most common example of privacy mishaps. Its problems are, unfortunately, becoming almost commonplace. Google, while usually pretty good, has also had problems. The search giant came up with Google Buzz [http://buzzusers.com], which built in a social network to Gmail and other Google products, and automatically linked users accounts in. At first, a "disable" option was not available. After a huge uproar, Google apologized and allowed users to opt-out of Buzz, and have more control over their settings.
This behavior is unsettling, since it mimics almost exactly Facebook's current standard operating procedure: quietly change something about the site that lessens the amount of privacy that one can have, wait for uproar, apologize and add in a few features that allow users to opt-out of sharing their personal information, wait a few months, repeat. So far, Google has not done the final two steps of Facebook's procedure, but it is just a matter of time. While blogs and newsites are pretty good about getting Facebook and Google to apologize and change some settings, the larger trend of more and more information being public by default has continued. Unless consumers are very careful, personal information is easily available to many people, including advertising agencies who make money off of what they know about you. Consumers need to demand a change in the status quo, to make programs opt-in rather than opt-out, and to make sure that everyone who uses a service is able to understand the privacy agreements and terms & conditions. Currently these documents are full of legalese and impossible to understand without higher education - and, as is currently the case for Facebook, can be longer than the US Constitution.
Just remember as a user of any of the various social network sites such as Myspace, Google Buzz, or Facebook, you must only share what you don't mind others seeing. Privacy isn't an issue if the stuff you are sharing does not have a need to be private.
This behavior is unsettling, since it mimics almost exactly Facebook's current standard operating procedure: quietly change something about the site that lessens the amount of privacy that one can have, wait for uproar, apologize and add in a few features that allow users to opt-out of sharing their personal information, wait a few months, repeat. So far, Google has not done the final two steps of Facebook's procedure, but it is just a matter of time. While blogs and newsites are pretty good about getting Facebook and Google to apologize and change some settings, the larger trend of more and more information being public by default has continued. Unless consumers are very careful, personal information is easily available to many people, including advertising agencies who make money off of what they know about you. Consumers need to demand a change in the status quo, to make programs opt-in rather than opt-out, and to make sure that everyone who uses a service is able to understand the privacy agreements and terms & conditions. Currently these documents are full of legalese and impossible to understand without higher education - and, as is currently the case for Facebook, can be longer than the US Constitution.
Just remember as a user of any of the various social network sites such as Myspace, Google Buzz, or Facebook, you must only share what you don't mind others seeing. Privacy isn't an issue if the stuff you are sharing does not have a need to be private.
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