Use Facebook, But

I’m kind of on the fence with Facebook. On the one hand, it let’s me share news, pictures, and information very easily with friends and family. On the other, it’s run by people who are either incompetent or outright malicious with their practices. Just read a couple of these articles to find out just how they feel about your data (some articles contain R-rated language, mom):

• Business Insider
• More Business Insider
• Jason Calacanis (whom I normally can’t stand, but offers insightful information here)
• The EFF on their slowly eroding privacy policy.

This stuff seems pretty bad, especially the cavalier attitude their CEO has with regards to privacy. The crazy part is: they do not have any reason to change. Over 35 million people check their Facebook pages at least once a day (I’m one of them). So unless they take a significant hit in the pocketbook, why would they change?

I’m not calling for a boycott here, that’s just a little silly. And Facebook does still provide a useful utility; there just isn’t a better way for me to keep up with my circle of friends out there. However, I am careful with what is on my Facebook. I don’t install any apps or games, I monitor my privacy settings every little while or so, and I don’t use status updates for anything serious.

So use Facebook, and have fun, but exercise some caution. Do not post anything on it that you wouldn’t mind having shouted from a megaphone to the entire planet. 

Written by Scott Williams who lives and works in sunny Phoenix, AZ. Twitter is also a place.