In the wake of the backlash it faced following its announcements at f8, Facebook has been doing everything it can to reinforce its message that it cares deeply about privacy. Last week it rolled out new “drastically simplified” privacy controls, making it easier to quickly adjust your settings. And today the site is launching a new Page dedicated to Privacy and Facebook, which it says provides users with a “living resource” for learning about and discussing these issues. This comes in addition to a rewritten privacy guide and video tutorials that walk users through the new settings.
All of this is very welcome — education is essential to helping users stay safe online. But it strikes me as something that users should have seen before the privacy overhaul last December, when they were ushered into using ‘Everyone‘ as the default sharing setting for updates. And again, before they were automatically opted-in to Instant Personalization. These new resources may help concerned users stay informed, but most people aren’t going to take the initiative to look at them. In other words, the damage may already be done.
Facebook is the world’s largest social network, with over 1 billion monthly active users. Facebook was founded by Mark Zuckerberg in February 2004, initially as an exclusive network for Harvard students. It was a huge hit: in 2 weeks, half of the schools in the Boston area began demanding a Facebook network. Zuckerberg immediately recruited his friends Dustin Moskovitz, Chris Hughes, and Eduardo Saverin to help build Facebook, and within four months, Facebook added 30 more college networks. The original...
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