DISQUS

@78 Good point!

I would pay around 30 bucks a year to use Facebook it is worth that much to me. Cheers - Eric

Hi Robert,
I am one of your 5000 friends on Facebook and I really don’t want to wade into who is right and wrong here. I really thought about your point and it is true – there just seems like there should be something else that can be done other than being erased. I have a lot of memories tied into Facebook, (I know sounds really sad – yeah I know), but I do. And the bigger issue is that they are building a community and like any community, sure you need to punish those that misbehave but we usually put them in jail and make them do some time. Even the notion of putting all your stuff in a box and sending you packing is not really much of a solution. When I went to click on your profile picture during the ban and I got shunted to my home status page – it felt really weird – it was like you had really been erased. And then the thought – what if I got erased? What if I had used some tool and made a mistake and got turfed – that would not be cool - I have made contact with all my old high school and university buddies through Facebook and now what? They all hang out in this community and I can’t come back in? – that is really weird and off putting. I am glad you are back on Facebook because that is where I am – thanks for the post.

Cheers - Eric

Hey Nick,

Your status update was right - this was a long post ;-) - but don't worry it made sense.

I think you have touched on a huge issue here and that is privacy policies. There does seem to be a cowboy approach to sharing user data between third parties and the liberties that are taken without the individual consent is pretty cavalier. Either their legal team is asleep at the switch or super laid back but I am sure there has to be someone on their team saying - "Hey man - you can't just do that". I think the hot water will come from the data they collect on users that are under the Age of Authority - but still allowed to use the site. The Age of Authority thing is tricky stuff because you are treading close to storing information on a minor and that is going to be a big problem. Being responsible for data that profiles a 16 year old is not something I would touch with a ten foot pole – but then extending that out by allowing other 3rd. Parties to post information to your site and you do not have expressed consent to gather that information is even bigger. It’s all cool if you are a one off hack site with a shelf life of a year or two – but if you are growing your site into something of real value then that is something to worry about. YouTube got away with a lot of copyright infringements prior to Google buying it – but even before the ink was dry they started getting sued – why – because now YouTube had money behind it so suing it meant getting something out of it.

Facebook is playing in the land of legal issues and that is not about people acting fair – it is about people trying to make money off of someone else’s winnings – I know that is super harsh but that is the way I see it. When Cindy Loo-hoo is mortified that Walgreens is telling Facebook that she just bought tampons and KY and that data squeaked out to all her friends through some hack – her dad the attorney is going to look for restitution. I know seems very tin-foil hat to say this – but I would not want to be on the other end of the PR nightmare – “The popular social website Facebook is sharing your children’s personal data – are your children safe from predators? News at eleven.”

Cheers,

Eric

Hey Nick,

For sure they have crossed over the line. Zuckerberg was a great poster boy for the new Web 2.0 economy and do no evil generation. However it feels like he has hired body guards and has crossed over to the dark side. I would not be surprised if he started dating Paris Hilton. The Facebook pendulum has started to swing the other way - prior to Beacon half the users hoped that Facebook was not profiling them and the other half had no idea what that meant. Now everyone knows they are profiling them and everyone is not so keen. Add to the mix the cozying up with Microsoft and you got the guilty by association thing happening.

Glad you write on this stuff Nick - it needs to be talked about. They can turn this ship around by pulling the plug right now and saying - "whoaaa what were we thinking!" and the users will go Yeah! That red headed dude cares about little old me!

Cheers,

Eric

Robert,

Thank you for this post - I thought I was losing it. I use a Dell laptop running XP and have a blackberry and I am ridiculed by Mac fans - and I ask why? I really don't care if they have a Mac or a Vic20 or whatever. I just want to get some work done and yet it is as if I am crazy for not having a Mac? For what I use MsWord and Thunderbird and Firefox why do I need a new iTop - thingie? iPhone for what e-mail and talking? My Blackberry seems to do that O.K. I listen to tunes on my iPod, (well I used to but the battery croaked and now only works when it is plugged into the wall - so I have to borrow my daughters new i-pod Nano).

Sorry but what is wrong with being out of the loop in the buying frenzy for new tech equipment. I love technology - but nowhere near as much as I love snowboarding or spending time with friends - friends that don't care about computers - because at the end of the day they are tools and not becoming a tool is my main objective.

Cheers - Eric
P.S. that PR fumble on Valleywag is classic - that is so seriously bad PR that I thought it was a skit. That first dude being interviewed looked so scared I thought he was going to crap his pants - like Martin Short in the 80's that nervous guys all shakey muldoon - (http://youtube.com/watch?v=FOLBQxk72NY).

Call it the way you see it my man! Nice post and I love the way you cut to the chase on the noise going on around town.

What's that FB is going somewhere - quick run interference - button hook button hook - someone go deep for the hail mary!

I love it Nick

Cheers - Eric

Ohhh Nick you have shown the goose that lays the golden egg here! I speak from experience on this one, (I have made dough here without crazy competition) - Markets outside of English are huge and are growing. People laugh at Orkut.com - ha ha big deal number one in Brazil - bahhh who cares - check out where Google makes dough in Adsense - there is a lot of money being made outside of English. Call me a kook if you want but I would check out this posting in Valleywag - http://valleywag.com/tech/google/fun-facts-abou...

Cheers - E

Hey Nick - while I agree it is impressive I also think the underlining support for the cause was secondary to the excitement of reaching the goal. I joined at the 989,976 point last night and then watch as the wall postings flashed by. I was actually kinda fun to see how many people wanted an add or a poke or declared their luv for Raj, (I will admit to wasting an hour hitting refresh). For me as a Gen-X Canadian it was about looking at the power of a network and feeling of being connected through a common thread. As for the 989,975 before me well they may have had a more serious reason - for me it was because it was Colbert - and because it was neat.

Hope the west coast is treating you well.

Cheers - Eric

I am with Lee on this one - MSN search may suck but this is the time of the land grab and they just got some serious location on the board. Google stock is undervalued right now - they are going to show some serious earnings in the next quarter. Bottom line - print and TV advertising is losing big time and with Facebook providing laser guided marketing - it is every product pushers wet dream!

580 million for MySpace! how absurd - fast forward 27 months - that is a sweet bargain for News Corp - times they are a changin!

Cheers,

Eric

Sweet Nick - thanks for the Post! When FB gets dialed in with their flyer program and add more features they are going to make a mint! Have a great weekend - Cheers - Eric

As much as it is a cumbersome and challenging task - I think FB needs to review the ads and have some sort of community thumbs up or thumbs down system. I do not want some creepy Lolita image like the one you posted, (pink headband is pretty bad), staring back at me when I am online. I saw that ad last week and reported it to FB and they said they would look into it. I would like to hear what other readers think - maybe I am the one missing the point.

Hey hold on there – It was form Jen’s blog that I heard of Shoemoney a long time ago and then Shoe told me about this blog and the vote going on. If you don’t like the results don’t watch the polls – ask Danny Sullivan who’s the Queen if you want to know. It’s funny guys take a poll on which guy is King and I did not see any cattiness – just an observation. To see someone who is on the voter’s list post a sarcastic remark makes them look really sad – no I mean really really sad.

Cheers,

Eric