By Suzanne Panoplos
For quite some time, Facebook has been under fire because its privacy policy is too vague, privacy settings are too complicated and let’s face it, it all seems to be changing quite frequently. There have also been people calling for Mark Zuckerberg’s resignation based on claims that Facebook has been abusing its members’ personal data.
Facebook privacy – to me, those two words together are an oxymoron. Facebook by its very nature is a social community. Although you are free to choose who is in your community, you do not have a lot of control about how information passes through your group of “friends”.
Take for example your own social circles – you may tell something to a friend or colleague in confidence with the expectation that they will not pass this information on. This person may in turn tell their one “trusted source” and so on and so on. In fairly short order, that secret that you have entrusted with a good friend is being communicated outside your social circle.
I view Facebook the same way – anything posted on your page or in your informational tabs will be passed on in some way. I know people that have actually called in sick to work and then posted pictures of their fabulous day at a museum or sporting event on a Facebook page. Sure, your manager may not be connected to you on Facebook or you may have restricted him/her from your updates but chances are someone will eventually see your post and pictures and potentially make a comment to your manager. I am a strong believer in the seven degrees of separation theory – we are all connected in some way.
For me it all boils down to one simple rule – if you don’t want it out there, don’t put it up there.
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