| Vol. 8, issue 3 - issued monthly | March 2009 |
|
In this issue:
|
From the Editor:Social networking sites are everywhere. It seems everyone is twittering, has a facebook page, etc. I personally am not a big fan of Facebook, Flicker and other. Why? They can do pretty much what they want with your content, photos, etc.! The following article is pretty interesting regarding the recent bad press Facebook received. Decide for yourself. As always, remember to Surf Safely - use your anti-virus and firewall's! - Michelle “Help stamp out, eliminate and abolish redundancy! ” |
|
Can Facebook Be Trusted?by Brendon Sinclair of www.sitepoint.com There's been a bit of hoo-ha over recent changes to Facebook's Terms of Service with the social networking site looking to own everything you upload "... in any way they deem fit, forever, no matter what you do later." It becomes particularly a bit messy when your privacy settings are subjected to these terms. Facebook are now continually being seen as trying to get hold of your data and basically saying "Trust us." Users quickly rallied against the new Terms of Service and Facebook backed down quicker than I would if Mike Tyson challenged me to a fight. When users went to delete their accounts they were directed to their carefully couched retraction: "Are you deleting because you're concerned about Facebook's Terms of Service? This was a mistake that we have now corrected. You own the information you put on Facebook and you control what happens to it. We are sorry for the confusion." Ummm, confusion?! There was no confusion. Facebook tried to own the rights to every single bit of content their users upload to their Facebook account. Users saw it and started moving away in droves. Perhaps the message should have read: "Darn! You're onto us! Okay, okay ... let's ignore what just happened. Let's be friends again. We'll never try anything like this again. Honest!" But can you be sure about Facebook now? After industry rumors for years that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg swiped the idea and much of the code from online community, ConnectU, a Los Angeles law firm let slip that Facebook paid $US65 million to settle a lawsuit around that allegation. While the full details of the settlement are confidential and there's been no admission of guilt, it begs the question: can Facebook be trusted? It seems to me that Facebook lacks a decent track record, fails to consult with their members in any meaningful way, and are considered untrustworthy by their users. However, it's such a massive player in the social media space that you'd be crazy to disregard it altogether. As with any contractual arrangement, keep your eyes open and proceed cautiously. |
||
Just for Fun or Useful LinksAiming to be the next YouTube mogul? Fliggo is simple to use and lets you build your own video site. Being able to use your own domain is a necessary feature for budding entrepreneurs though, and this will soon be available too. Want to convert a PDF to Word? Check out the aptly named pdftoword.com site for your beta invitation. |
||