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Facebook’s New “News Feed” is causing uproar! But why?
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Some of the items that get put in the feed seem to be crossing the thin line between “trust” and “violation of privacy” and this is what most people seem to be contesting in the newly created group, Students against Facebook News Feed (Official Petition to Facebook).
The creator of this group argues that:
Facebook is “private”. You get to PICK who sees your info and your activity. BUT… why do we need to know who updates what? So far, I agree. Next…
Ahhhhhhh.... but here it is!!! What bothers people the most is that what’s being written on the “Walls” is being read by everyone who’s marked as a friend! Here’s where I start to disagree with the whole protest. Walls were never meant to be used the way they are used now. Walls were meant to be a public description of the person that is meant to be read by everybody. Facebook users were supposed to write about each other so that people could get to know a little more about each other even if they only met for a short time or if, in some cases, they had never met at all! And yet, walls are not used for this purpose! Walls are used as a place to post up messages about how your vacation was or to ask the person when they’re coming back or to tell them that the party was a blast last night… ALL OF THESE THINGS SHOULD BE POSTED AS MESSAGES!!!!! Therefore, at this point, I conclude that any demands to remove this feature on the basis that what you’re writing is being read by others is invalid. Write your messages in a message if you don’t want others to read it. Also, Facebook does allow you to remove items that will appear in the News Feed. You have the option of removing the item from the “My profile” section. This is a good first step but still needs to allow the user to automate which events do or do not get posted. This feature, when extended, would meet the requirements of the above group. To the Facebook Dev Team - The feed was a good idea. Sometimes good ideas need to be forced upon people in order for them to realize it. By creating this News Feed, you will successfully acheive your ultimate goal - To have members spend more time logged in, online, checking things out, and exposing themselves to your ads. So, overall, good job. On the other hand, your failure to realize and act on the way your community has evolved is simply amazing. How could you not see this coming? Walls have never been used for their original purpose as have other features and so this was bound to upset the hardcore fans! You should never upset fans; guide them to see things your way but don’t upset them abruptly. Facebook was founded and has been successful because it gives its members a sense of trust; a sense of belonging to a closed community. What people fail to realize is that this networking system actually exposes them to more people than they actually know about. What’s even scarier is to think what might happen if Facebook were to let other people access this data… all of those pictures that were only put for friends to see; friends you trust. Facebook is playing a dangerous game… TIME magazine has interviewed Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, and states:
This anti-News Feed group now has 322,519 members; that’s 40,000 more than when I started writing this entry!
Conclusion:
I am looking forward to any comments or opinions you may have on this subject. So please drop a note!
Meanwhile, I’m back to Facebook… Posted by: Nick in
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I believe it was only yesterday that Facebook updated its interface and introduced the “News Feed.” The idea is quite simple and common to those who use RSS and ATOM feeds - the user gets to see any updates about any event that has gone on recently that is either directly or indirectly related to him or her. In other words, the user gets to see all of the latest things that his or her friends have done.
The total number of members on Facebook is estimated to be 8 million. The phenomenon is growing at an exponential rate!
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Hey Nicolas, I agree with what you say here, and although the first time I saw the feed I disliked it, I am kind of loving it now. People are just too used to the inaccessibility of information and now that it’s so accessible they are pissed off. Lick it up, I say! BTW, nice website. Check mine out if you have time. (I guess us computer/Pascal nerds tend to have websites...=)
Hi Daniel. Nice site; or sites I should say! I’m glad you share my view about this whole Facebook thing. Even if at first it looks scary or invasive, the truth is that this was the next logical step in advancing their product.
BTW - I read your FAQ and I must say that I disagree with your views on Apples (the Macintosh that is). I agree that they were terrible for most of the past decade but recently, ever since Jobs got back on the job, I find that they’ve improved and surpassed Windows in many aspects - and I used to be a Windows fan! However, my recent job has “forced” me to switch over and by now, I can assure you that my next computer will be a Mac; especially when I see the catastrophe that awaits the world with Vista. Anyways, if you get a chance to try out a Mac, give it a week or two and you might be surprised
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