Testing, again Post on Oct 08, 2008

I removed the crappy Feed reader plugin from facebook applications and just used the 'import' option on my profile page. Just testing it out again...

I wonder what happens when I add a link...

Testing feed reader from Facebook Post on Oct 08, 2008

Okay, I give in, Facebook is a little handy sometimes. But I still loathe the thought of having to read through the cruft of 300 friends' updates daily.

Let's see if FaceBook updates my profile with this new item :)

More Facebook discussion Link on Sep 24, 2008

http://webworkerdaily.com/2007/06/13/ten-things-i-hate-about-you-facebook/

Goodbye cruel Facebook Link on Sep 24, 2008

http://andyriga.wordpress.com/2007/05/22/i-quit-goodbye-cruel-facebook/

Facebook haters Post on Sep 24, 2008

I've never really been a fan of Facebook. At first I didn't really get it, what it was for, or how to use it. Then after a couple tries, things started to kick in, and the utility made sense to me. But right off the bat I was turned off (as I'm sure others are) by constant "pokes" and "vampire bites" and other forms of interaction that would entertain any 7-year-old.

But the real reason

But that wasn't what really turned me off. I was pretty sure, having used similar social sites in the past, that Facebook would have a privacy policy and terms of service that is consistent with such sites. Every photo you upload, every post you write, everything you 'twitter' and comment and wall-post on the site, you have now granted Facebook the right to distribute, copy, and otherwise manipulate your content:

"for any purpose, commercial, advertising, or otherwise, on or in connection with the Site or the promotion thereof, to prepare derivative works of, or incorporate into other works, such User Content, and to grant and authorize sublicenses of the foregoing." - Source

You agreed to it when you signed on to the site

The only reprieve is that the license mentioned above ends if you remove your content, but that doesn't seem to be happening any time soon. I think FB is probably more popular than ever, having just launched The New Facebook.

Am I a FB hater?

Probably not. I still have a pang in my gut when I think about uploading my life onto their servers. Is it different than uploading my life onto this blog? Probably. I doubt any corporation is going to peruse my blog in attempts to benefit from my content (although I'm sure someone is trying anyway).

Should everyone delete their FB accounts?

No, I don't think so. Just be a little more mindful about what you put on your profile. I'm not sure whether I should laugh or feel sorry for my little sister when she twitters about her love life on on her FB status and my father reads it on the computer.

(and nobody does this next one):

READ THE TERMS OF SERVICE. How do you know what contract you're agreeing to without reading it? When you buy a house or a business, do you just sign the papers? Probably.

Here's the Facebook Haters site if you're interested.

And a neat video: