Selling Your Privacy On Facebook - Wall Street Journal

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...LEFTTopStories

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Not so long ago, there was a familiar product called software. It was sold in stores, in shrink-wrapped boxes. When you bought it, all that you gave away was your credit card number or a stack of bills.

Now there are "apps"—stylish, discrete chunks of software that live online or in your smartphone. To "buy" an app, all you have to do is click a button. Sometimes they cost a few dollars, but many apps are free, at least in monetary terms. You often pay in another way. Apps are gateways, and when you buy an app, there is a strong chance that you are supplying its developers with one of the most coveted commodities in today's economy: personal data.

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Im sure most of you dont care. But that isnt the point. The point is that even if you use Privacy Settings on your Facebook acct, if you talk about your friend on Facebook, those kinds of posts are not covered by the Privacy Settings. Hey wait a sec? Who gave you permission to decide for someone else what some other company is going to do with that data?

And for those of you that "do nothing wrong", remember the word "Wrong" is a Subjective Term. If you drink "Pepsi", then in the eyes of "Coke", you are doing something wrong. Or, if you are Jewish, in the eyes of a Baptist, you are doing something wrong. The extent that the information is being "used against you" may or may not be as extreme as life and death, but to treat you like a Resource to be Harvested. You earn money, which, to them, is the Harvestable Resource you are after. And guess what. Advertising is alive because it is effective. Do you think that personalized Advertising will result in Less Ads for you, or a whole slew of more effective ones? Since you drink Pepsi, I'll be sure to show you an ad that says Pepsi is on sale so you are more inclined to buy Pepsi. But if Coke was on sale, showing you an ad for Coke would be ineffective, so lets market to you some other product you have purchased before. So, by showing you personalized ads, you are now going to spend money you dont have on crap you dont need. Congratulations! You've just been Harvested. And when you are Depleted, bankrupt, dried up and used up, you will be disposed of. But, you didnt "do anything wrong".

I care.

Which is why you don't see me on Farcebook, or using a "smart" phone, among many other things.

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Originally Posted by DamianTV

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...LEFTTopStories



Im sure most of you dont care.

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You're probably more likely to find people who care here than most other places.

Personally, I've started to become more vocal on facebook because keeping quiet and shutting up about an emerging police state just isn't very effective.

There is something more effective than Facebook. Talking to people in Real Life. Go find one of your Facebook buddies in Real Life when they go on vacation, and say "Thank you for telling me that you are on vacation, now I know you wont be home so I can break into your home while you are on vacation and steal your TV, Refrigerator, Car, Dishwasher, but Im gonna leave your Wii (that I know you have) because it is a piece of crap." and see how they respond.

The abuse that the Lack of Privacy provides the potential for may not always come from a Government or Corporation.

I really don't see a problem with this. If you care so much about keeping your privacy, then don't post personal information publicly on a privately-owned website!

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Originally Posted by Xhin

I really don't see a problem with this. If you care so much about keeping your privacy, then don't post personal information publicly on a privately-owned website!

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That isnt quite the problem. The problem is the Implied Concent that is assumed by All Companies. Just because I borrowed your Weedwhacker doesnt mean that every fucking weedwhacker manufacturer needs to start showing me ads for their crappy products. I am not Imlying Concent by telling you my weedwhacker is busted to allow Advertisers to Track me in ANY FORM OF ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION. Advertising is persuasion to get me to spend money I dont have on shit I dont need. And it isnt just about Farcebook. Its about Advertisers and Manufacturers treating you like a consumable resource, that, when exhausted, is to be disposed of as quickly as possible.