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PEOPLE ARE INCREASINGLY concerned with their privacy on Facebook, according to a new consumer report.
The Consumer Reports study involved 2,002 online households including 1,340 Facebook users and, extrapolating the results to apply them to Facebook’s 188 million North American users, it identified the main causes for concern as:
It seems that users concerned about their privacy are also trying to run rings around Facebook, with 25 per cent saying that they had falsified their information in order to protect their identity.
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Facebook is free and I believe the saying is “if somebody is giving you something for nothing, then you’re the product”. Don’t put up important personal information.
It’s simple, if you don’t want your privacy infringed, then don’t post stuff online!
Or at least read T&C’s before joining such sites!
I’m not sure if it is that simple.
Other people may tag you, put up photos, say where you are and revel relationships even if you choose not to.
Personally, I think there are major concerns with privacy, and Facebook has proven that it does not really listen to it’s users in the past. (e.g. many dislike the timeline thing but they’ll still be forced to have it).
I went to FB with much reluctance to follow a particular campaign. Unfortunately it is a good place to collect info on topics. I find it difficult not to use it for that reason.
A good friend told me when I was signing up for myspace back in the day not to use my real name.. In hindsight some of the most valuable advice I was ever given..
My private life is my private life, before employers were snooping on facebook how did they do it? Secretly stick a private investigator on you to see what you got up to at the weekend and what TV shows you watch? No, so why has this suddenly become acceptable?
Just because I have a facebook for keeping in touch with friends and family does not give an employer / potential client to stick their noses in my private life, nor does it give facebook the right to share my information with the highest bidder.
Then there’s the link up of social media, like here for example. While I can guage a poster on their contribution, I am also aware that there are those who may not contribute, were I to say something that someone else took as reason for hostility, I do not wish to lead them to my personal facebook page – hence why I got a twitter account (mind you, some of the commenters here do not seem to grasp that some people use pseudonyms for valid reasons such as the above). I make full use of my privacy controls, but even those have limits.
It is not that I have nothing to hide, or that I wish to mislead, I’m just protecting my right to privacy. Something the providers of social media do not appear to respect.
oops, not that I have anything to hide!!
I always fake name but got kicked off Facebook once for using one. I used my real name for a while and then got sick of it altogether and deleted my account. I don’t get why you wouldn’t make your profile completely private though. Only thing you could see if you weren’t a ‘friend’ was my picture,name and a couple of interests
Ah, have you ever used an app on Facebook?
The majority don’t just access your personal info, but your friends personal info too. Now, while I refrain from using these apps out of respect for my friends privacy, most of them aren’t even aware that they are compromising mine by using them. So why give Facebook my real name, address or phone number? (I didn’t sync my phone with it for the same reason).
No,never used apps and had friends list hidden. Also never let my friends tag me in pics. Really don’t like Facebook. Twitters alright as my names not on it and I think I only have a small handful of people I actually know on it. I guess if you wanted to be completely private then you simply wouldn’t use the Internet,but that’d be no fun now would it? ;) there’s a certain amount that if fine I think. I am signed up to a couple of baby sites so I can get freebies for my toddler and incoming son so I do have personal info out there.
In my first comment I didn’t mean ‘you’ as in you personally,I meant anyone ;)
Facebook will go down the same path as Bebo and MySpace – Once its users being to discover that Facebook uses and sells every kb of info for a profit and if the profit begins to reduce – the lines begin to move – users decline and deactivate accounts – at the same time as the next generation decide that its too old and uncool – and move on to ………
Managing your data on a social media platform or websites is key.
It is not so much about what you share online about yourself but what others will also share about you.
Online reputation is a difficult asset to manage. Should it be at corporate level or individual level.
Here is an article we wrote on the topic – http://www.targetonlinemarketing.com/en/blog/119-you-yes-you-on-the-web.html
Oooooopsy pressed enter too quickly
Another important point in our tough economic times is how are all of those social media platforms used in a work environment?
On the ”not-so-positive” side of things, social media platforms have now become a formidable tools to screen cadidates, check this infographic – http://www.targetonlinemarketing.com/en/blog/134-infographic-monday-social-media-screening.html
On the bright side, social media can also be used to recruit candidates, http://www.targetonlinemarketing.com/en/blog/143-infographics-mondays-social-media-recruitment.html
Whatever you do, what you post and more importantly what others post about you!
What the fuck are you hiding?
Can’t live with it, can’t live without it.
have your say