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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 commentsWonderfulxdaysMay 17th 2010 3:09PM
You can't. I don't know what he's talking about regarding seeing random peoples status updates.
Erez ZukermanMay 17th 2010 3:16PM
Well then, let me tell you.
Let's say Sally isn't my friend, but Joe is. So I see on my wall, "Joe liked Sally's status", and right under I see Sally's status update, because Sally has the _default_ "friends of friends" options checked!
Does Sally know I'm reading this? Heck, does she have any idea she's sharing it?
burnblueMay 17th 2010 3:42PM
Maybe she does. I do know for a fact that Facebook made me review these settings before the granular post privacy settings went live, and my default is exactly what it was before. Whether she knows that she's over-sharing or not (and I do think that lock icon explains itself very well on hover), the thing is _you_ know that your posts are not set to "friends of friends". So no random person is reading _your_ status unless you authorized it. Hence, what Sally leaves as her default should not reflect on your decision to stay on or leave Facebook.
It used to be that people in your network (college-wide, it started) could see your stuff. Then when Networks grew too huge, Facebook shut that down. If I want to make an update a little more public, friends of my friends are a slightly more trustworthy circle than an entire network since it more closely mimics real life.. so basically it's an improvement.
JoshMay 17th 2010 11:44AM
I deleted everything on my profile on Saturday when I read about Zuckerberg's chat transcript from when Facebook was Harvard only. Every photo, every video, every single piece of info about me. Even untagged me in all notes and photos. Facebook is now nothing more than a way to talk to friends, which is the only reason I have not deleted my account. Today, more of my friends communicate through Facebook than through instant messaging or even phones. Eliminating the account would effectively cut communication off from a lot of my friends.
So now, I have nothing but a wall and (somewhat) private messages. Until Facebook does something stupid and I get rid of it completely. I'm almost there already.
AllysonMay 17th 2010 2:14PM
I am in the same boat. I deleted a lot of my info, save for a few photos. I want to get rid of it altogether but I know I'll be completely ostracized. I'm trying to get IM and emails for everyone but I think for now I'm just going to let it sit.
AemonyMay 17th 2010 11:51AM
You talk as if you actually deleted your account but it turns out you only deactivated it, leaving all your material still on FB's servers. At least Jason spoke the truth when he said he only deactivated it, so it was a temporary goodbye.
Drama queen.
IvanMay 17th 2010 12:04PM
Funny thing is, I never put anything on facebook that would matter if it got into the anywhere ... perhaps you going about this completely in the wrong manner?
My real friends know how to get a hold of me without facebook ... this 'Me' generation is killing it for the rest of us.
johnbondjoviMay 17th 2010 12:24PM
I deleted mine last week. I am not even getting all worked up or hyped up about this. I just don't trust them and I really don't want my company people seeing any of my weekend shit. (or my parents for that matter)
AkoMay 17th 2010 1:03PM
i did the same ages ago. there are too many stupid things about Facebook (and many other social networking websites). i think we still have a long road ahead before we're able to live happily and safely in an online world.
BobDigiMay 17th 2010 1:14PM
Privacy? Its your job to keep your private information off of the web. Why do people assume that anything they put on the WORLD WIDE WEB is private.
JamusMay 17th 2010 1:57PM
I say let the backlash keep on a coming.
RaithlinMay 17th 2010 3:11PM
I did the deactivation thing, after removing all information from my profile. Everything gone. I deleted the password from my LastPass vault too - and only then did I find the permanent deletion link. Ah, well.
thatmikeguy2May 17th 2010 3:43PM
I like my freedom, no Facebook, Twitter, and I've almost completely stopped texting. Life is good!
timMay 17th 2010 3:58PM
I'm almost at this point as well; I had to go in and spend 10 minutes telling it to not share some things with friends of friends.
Not a fan of their latest "improvements"
MarcoMay 17th 2010 4:25PM
LMAO... and in a week or two everyone's back on FB because there is no alternative out there.
C'mon... there is NO privacy on the Internet. Your dial-in provider sells your data (address, dns requests, etc.), server providers sell your data, your mail provider sells your mails and so does your favorite social network and your favorite search engine.
So... the only chance for pricacy is to cancel your internet provider contract and lock yourself in a room... or.. hey... just don't post your stupid photos ("me drunk", "sally cheating on her bf", etc.) and don't write personal status messages, etc.
PS: I expected something neutral by a subsidiary of AOL (DownloadSquad) and not a "see... I delete my account... "...
... just waiting for the "AOL just launched a new social network.. come on guys.. I just signed up. Join me" post ^oo^
JackMay 18th 2010 1:23AM
A lot of people are saying Goodbye to Facebook. I wonder if they are under the 400million mark now?
laeroMay 18th 2010 3:44PM
Aw comeone, what's the deal here. You guys got staples of friends a mile high?Just block the content you don't want to see and perhaps don't put your entire life on facebook. Use it as a tool, not a replacement for your free time and social life.
nemMay 23rd 2010 2:08AM
Even if you delete your account they still keep most of your data it is all Lies, lies I tell you! lol... but thats the truth... dlete your account, wait 14 days, 21 days or 21 months... you can still log back in and it knows who all your friends are, no need to ever re-register, they keep everything.