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The time has come for me to say goodbye to Facebook too
Jason Clarke did it first, and now I feel the time has come for me to say goodbye to Facebook.
For me, it started getting creepy when I kept getting status updates from people who are not even my friends, and who have no idea they're broadcasting their status to "friends of friends".
Sure, you can control that through the privacy settings. But how many people actually know all 170 privacy settings?
There's a huge difference between reading bad things about a company, and witnessing it yourself in the UI you use every day. And that's where it crosses the line for me. I mean, whenever a company does well (and Facebook is doing very well), there are detractors crying out about how evil it all is. Usually, this is just a knee-jerk response to a company growing large. I think that on some basic level, some people just don't like large, successful anything.
But today's Facebook actually has a split personality; on the one hand, it puts on a super-friendly, smiley-happy face for newcomers and non-geeks. On the other hand, to prevent your personal information from getting all over the place, you need to be a super-educated and "paranoid" geek.
Since when did privacy become "for geeks only"?
And it's also a matter of trust; Facebook has an interesting habit of opting users in to all sorts of new schemes. I suddenly found out I was included in their information sharing scheme with other sites. I just randomly discovered this. I'm just plain sick and tired of having to watch over Facebook's shoulder every day, trying to figure out what they added or changed to make my information more broadly available.
The bottom line is that it's just not worth it, at least for me. Goodbye, Facebook.
[Update: I have deleted my account fully, not just deactivated. Thanks, commenter Restoration, for the quick walkthrough. Yours, Erez the Drama Queen]
Comments
38
Subscribe to commentsDrakkenfyreMay 17th 2010 10:18AM
Saying "goodbye" isn't until you actually delete the account. Deactivating it isn't the same thing.
DarlaMay 17th 2010 8:26PM
I don't get why people are so uptight about Facebook privacy. The settings are very clunky, but you still have absolute control over how and what information is presented. It's all up to you no matter how angry the blogosphere gets about privacy. To me, as long as its consensual, there's no real privacy issues. I think that http://www.dirtyphonebook.com and others might be bigger issues down the road because there is no consent on there at all when posting personal information about anybody. It's certainly your right to quit Facebook if you want to Erez, but my prediction is that you'll return fairly soon to be quite honest.
ArowenMay 17th 2010 10:19AM
Drama Queen much?
Seems like I keep seeing these ALL over the 'net...so STFU and do it, no one needs to know it
http://www.inquisitr.com/72835/enough-with-the-facebook-whining-already/
DrakkenfyreMay 17th 2010 10:21AM
Why don't you? Maybe if you don't see the privacy violation Facebook is commiting, you don't understand. But if you like your personal info to be shared amongst every single person on Facebook, and every single company that uses Facebook, go ahead, keep being stupid about it. Maybe one day the sharing of your info will matter to you.
MorganMay 17th 2010 10:38AM
I'll give you this-- no one does need to know about it. Because no one is forced to read the article. So while you're throwing around your drama queens and STFUs consider you didn't even have to glance at the article or take the time to link to supporting material. Just have your opinion, and..
Any idea of the percentage of articles that could be written off that way? Meaning an article where some group of people is tired of reading a particular shared sentiment? There are probably plenty of other people that just don't mind, and then there are some people for whom the article is valuable, and it points out something they didn't know, and so on.
So the easiest thing is to just not be a dick, and skip the reading-- and even more importantly, if you claim to not want to read something, don't spend even more of your time commenting on it.
patrickanthonyolsonMay 17th 2010 10:22AM
I made the move today as well, all is deactivated. Download Squad should make an article on Facebook alternatives ;-)
AsgaroMay 17th 2010 1:46PM
What about Netlog?
http://www.netlog.com
I assume it's only very popular in Europe but not in the US?
That GuyMay 17th 2010 10:23AM
Hate to be "That Guy" but Deactivating does not equal Deleting. In that respect, just ignoring your facebook is the same as deactivating. They don't delete anything on your profile so if I were you I would go through and manually delete everything that you don't want on there anymore before deactivating.
216May 17th 2010 10:31AM
Yup. If you're going to deactivate, make sure to delete everything on your account first, or even use fake info to throw off advertisers/companies snooping for info. THEN deactivate it
kevjohnMay 17th 2010 10:23AM
Dude, one of my friends put in her status update that she needed a graphic designer to help her with a (non-pr0n) website she's trying to create. I copied it and sent it as a "private" message to another friend of mine who doesn't know her. 30 minutes later I notice all the 'targeted ads' I'm now getting are for graphic arts software and job and education offers. I was like, did FB just scan my personal message to a friend and use it to sell me stuff?
arowenMay 17th 2010 10:31AM
@Drakkenfyre
Yeah we all know the internet is perfectly secure. How much info is leaking from your computer right now? You call me stupid, well I take no offense from that considering the source...Damn my first post on this page and I've already got a troll slamming me...perhaps a Midol and a fresh pad would ease your mood?
Chirag TailorMay 17th 2010 10:35AM
What a drama queen. You might as well cancel your email and disconnect from the internet too since ISP's, search and email providers also keep you personal information on you and are likely to pass that on.
I'm not a huge fan of facebook, but you can change any privacy setting you like, it is not hidden ( i mean you see it every time you log off!). So what if they opt you in by default, you can always change it. People who post sensitive info on facebook obviously dont care for their privacy anyway!
ArowenMay 17th 2010 10:36AM
@ Drakkenfyre...
Yeah ALL your information is safe and secure on every website you go to. I understand that...not.
I just signed up here and I already have a person calling me stupid. It's a shame that we all don't know as much as you O Great One...perhaps a Midol and a fresh pad would put you in a better mood?
DrakkenfyreMay 17th 2010 12:56PM
You registered here just to run your mouth, and you don't even know why people are complaining.
Have YOU ever been the victim of a scam, or a hoax, or identity thieft? Have you ever had personal information leaked out that caused damage to your livelihood or career? Have you ever had problems trying to get a website to stop sharing your information to everyone?
People sign up for Facebook and don't even realize the extent that their information is shared. They aren't even told how much of their information is shared. And Facebook keeps changing it's policies without telling users. One day your email is safe, the next, you are getting spammed by a hundred "partners" of Facebook.
If you are too stupid to see why people are concerned about their privacy on Facebook, why don't you simply shut up? Maybe there is a reason there is such an outrage currently? Did you think maybe you just didn't get it? Maybe you are too stupid to see the comments the creator himself made about people being "stupid fucks" for trusting him. Maybe you are one of these "stupid fucks" he described, except, you are stupid for a completely different reason. You think because you register on all websites that the information shared by Facebook is no different. It just shows you have no idea what you are talking about.
Signing up just to bitch about a story, then spam a link to some other idiot who doesn't understand the privacy implications here shows you have real promise as a commenter.
CmpsdNoMoreMay 17th 2010 10:39AM
I'm heading down the same path
Abhimanyu GhoshalMay 17th 2010 10:57AM
So where are you going to get your social media fix now? I guess it's time for me to move out too, but I don't know where I'd go.
Daddy WarbuxMay 17th 2010 10:55AM
I tried changing/deleting specific bits of info on my account the other day but I can't seem to figure out how to do it. Every time I go to my account settings it just gives me the option to adjust their privacy not the actual info. And is deactivating your account the same as removing it??
And are people really beefing over an article? thats petty!
AllysonMay 17th 2010 2:10PM
Do you want to change the stuff on the info page? If so, go to the info tab and click on edit there. That'll bring you to a page with multiple sections to change info. If you want to change your name, that's in the Account Settings. Hope that helps.
RestorationMay 17th 2010 11:17AM
for account deletion: Help Center>Profile>Account Settings and Deletion>How do I permanently delete my account>read through and fill out the account deletion form
burnblueMay 17th 2010 11:22AM
"I kept getting status updates from people who are not even my friends"
Huh?
Your news feed has activity by friends. Occasionally it shows stuff like your friends commenting on other people's statuses, but I don't see how you can get status updates from non-friends.