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Avid Facebook users were welcomed to “Connections” on April 19, 2010 when the company announced the feature on its blog. Many users absent mindedly opted into Connections without investigating what it was or what it would do with their information. Connections is a feature that links users based upon information in their profiles, including current city, education, interests, activities, music, fan pages and items users “like”. Upon logging into Facebook, users are prompted to begin selecting items to include in Connections, even if you select “do not connect profile”, the prompt will show up again later. Additionally, users that choose not to select anything at all for Connections; Facebook simply removes items all together from the user’s profile. This action has caused many to become very upset, causing nearly 6,000 people to comment on the topic including Facebook user Markeith Pilot who complained “This is ridiculous, I never chose to opt in, and now all the music interest and activities that I had taken the time to write out are Gone!”.
Google did something similar with its unauthorized release of user information with Google Buzz which automatically signed users up with followers and people to follow them based upon whom they emailed and chatted with most.
Both, Connections and Google Buzz are presented to the public as a cool way to stay connected with friends, family and others with like interests, however they failed to present the potential threats to those using them. While users are not technically being “forced” into giving personal information, they are strongly coerced into sharing where they are, what they are doing, and even what is on their mind
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According to the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) there are few sneaky facts about Connections that users need to be aware of, including:
1. Facebook will not let you share any of this information without using Connections. You cannot opt-out of Connections. If you refuse to play ball, Facebook will remove all unlinked information from your profile.
2. Facebook will not respect your old privacy settings in this transition. For example, if you had previously sought to share your Interests with "Only Friends," Facebook will now ignore this and share your Connections with "Everyone."
3. Facebook has removed your ability to restrict its use of this information. The new privacy controls only affect your information's "Visibility," not whether it is "publicly available."
Explaining what "publicly available" means, Facebook writes:
"Such information may, for example, be accessed by everyone on the Internet (including people not logged into Facebook), be indexed by third party search engines, and be imported, exported, distributed, and redistributed by us and others without privacy limitations."
4. Facebook will continue to store and use your Connections even after you delete them. Just because you can't see them doesn't mean they're not there. Even after you "delete" profile information, Facebook will remember it. We've also received reports that Facebook continues to use deleted profile information to help people find you through Facebook's search engine.
5. Facebook sometimes creates a Connection when you "Like" something. That "Like" button you see all over Facebook, and now all over the web? It too can sometimes add a Connection to your profile, without you even knowing it.
6. Your posts may show up on a Connection page even if you do not opt in to the Connection. If you use the name of a Connection in a post on your wall, it may show up on the Connection page, without you even knowing it. (For example, if you use the word "FBI" in a post).
Why is all this information so important? Facebook’s Blog takes a nonchalant approach citing; “Instead of just boring text, these connections are actually Pages, so your profile will become immediately more connected to the places, things and experiences that matter to you.” Still, skeptics feel that this exhibits traits of Big Brother with its ability to pinpoint a users’ location, purchasing habits, personal habits, beliefs, interests and even their thought patterns could be used in behavioral profiling and advertising. Obviously, social networking sites are used for more than simple networking, advertisers use it to directly target current and potential consumers and the US government has been known to utilize social sites to track terrorists, criminals and other persons of interest.
None of this necessarily means that Facebook or Google watch your every online move, but they certainly have the means to; your information is readily available for public consumption and anything published online is there to stay forever. Be mindful of what information you choose to share.
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