Facebook criticised over privacy

The social networking site Facebook has come under fire for planned changes to its privacy settings.It wants to "simplify" the process so users only have to set them once, instead of for each individual feature.Facebook says the change will help people share more information with one another.However, critics argue the new set up could lead to members being persuaded to share too many personal details - their date of birth for example.Tom Royal is from Computeractive magazine.He said: "I'm a little bit worried about the settings recommended by Facebook because as far as I can see it's actually sharing quite a lot of information with quite a few people."That's not something we'd advise people to do. We'd very much recommend people choose the 'limited' option instead.'One size fits all'"For example, just your date of birth can be a security question for lots of internet applications."Facebook argues a 'one size fits all' approach will make things more straightforward for users."The effect of more and more settings has made controlling privacy on Facebook too complicated," according to the site's chief privacy officer Chris Kelly.It's also phasing out regional networks like London and Manchester because Kelly says "they don't adequately reflect a world where people choose the audience they want to share with".The number of people using Facebook has risen above the 20 million mark this year in the UK.It is the most popular social networking site in the world, with 200 million members globally.

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New Facebook Privacy Controls Take On Twitter

In a move that may actually pass without a huge uproar, Facebook has begun testing new privacy options that will make the service pretty much just like Twitter, but only if you want it to be. Or so they say.If these changes pass without a big user protest it would mark something of a return to normalcy for the service, which in the recent past has become globally-recognized for its ability to tiff users at seemingly every turn.Once the changes--now in beta and not yet final--are complete, users will be able to decide who can see their Facebook posts on a post-by-post basis. The sounds like a chore, and may be if not implemented properly, but it also makes Facebook potentially much more flexible and useful than Twitter.With the enhanced privacy controls, described by Facebook execs here and here, users will be able to select quite specifically--from everyone on the planet down to a single friend--who sees which posts.Twitter makes no such allowances. Once you've accepted a follower, they see everything you Tweet. That aspect is part of what makes Twitter more like a news or announcements service and less a way to share information with only your close friends. That, and the 140-character message limitation, which Facebook lacks.The new Facebook controls, as I understand them, would allow me to post links to blog posts like this one for everyone to see, while items of interest only to my ham radio friends would be visible only to a group of people that I've specifically selected.Create enough groups and you could make Facebook publishing a pretty granular thing, while still maintaining a public face by posting to everyone. This could become complex, but only if you want to add lots of groups and sometimes forget to select the proper setting before sharing.Reading Facebook's description of the planned changes, which include getting rid of the oh-so-useless regional networks, I can’t find anything that makes the hair on the back of my neck rise. That is an unusual experience with Facebook lately, so I'll have to go back and reread a few times.

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How Many Facebook Users Will Go Public?

By Jano
Marketers trying to horn in on the conversations happening on the Web are paying closer attention to what many consider the ultimate prize: Facebook's user profiles.On June 24, Facebook began testing a feature that lets users share their updates with the public—not just members they've deemed "friends." Each time a user provides an answer to Facebook's profile-page question "What's on your mind?," Facebook's software asks who may be allowed to see it. For instances when "everyone" is chosen, third-party companies are working on software that can analyze the information to see what products or services Facebook members might be interested in. And Facebook is modifying its search engine to look for these real-time feeds as well, the company has said."It opens up a whole other realm of content for companies who want to engage customers," says Marcel LeBrun, chief executive of Radian6, a software company that makes tools that let advertisers and public relations people draw conclusions from conversations on Twitter and other social-media sites. Radian6, Sysomos, and RightNow Technologies (RNOW) all have told BusinessWeek that they're modifying their current products to take advantage of Facebook's new status-broadcasting feature.The insights marketers may glean could prove intriguing. As public status updates accumulate on the site, visitors will be able to search for all mentions of specific keywords, such as "Obama" or "American Idol." Meredith Chin, a Facebook spokeswoman, says some of the site's users may choose to publicly broadcast updates about concert tickets for sale, political opinions, or other matters "widely applicable to more people than your friends."marketers are treading lightly Software companies hoping to mine Facebook's data will need to tread carefully, though. Only a small fraction of the site's 200 million users make their profile data available to companies. And marketers will need to avoid running afoul of the site's famously detail-oriented audience, which tends to bristle at any intrusions on their privacy.

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Private updates on Facebook

By Jano
FACEBOOK is testing new privacy controls that will allow the online hangout's roughly 200 million users to decide who should see each of their personal updates.In a Wednesday announcement, Facebook said the option will enable users to customise their postings for specific groups of friends.For instance, a person may want to share certain things - like how they're feeling about the weather - with everyone while limiting the audience able to read other developments - like a wild night of partying.Some Facebook users have gotten into trouble with employers and parents who have read updates containing inflammatory remarks or tales of indiscretions.The additional privacy controls initially will only be available to some Facebook users.(Tech O Bee News)

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