14 Comments »This afternoon, Peter Kafka proposed how to solve the Facebook Beacon issue. In order to solve a problem, you first need to assume that a problem exists. I for one, think that there is somewhat of a problem that exists. The problem is not Facebook Beacon though. The real issue is privacy. The web has forced upon us a new system in which you can be completely transparent or completely closed off. Fortunately there are some areas that reside in between but that area is for those that understand the tools they are using and have some common sense.
Ultimately, I have no idea how the Facebook Beacon situation is going to end up but what I do know is that Facebook is at the forefront of testing the limits of individuals’ privacy. This is a delicate issue and I’m starting to believe that it may in fact be a dangerous one. At what point do we really say enough is enough? Ultimately we have the ability to turn off the computer, put down the video camera or turn off any other technology that can be used to monitor ourselves.  The issue becomes blurry though when it comes to those that don’t understand the technology that they are using.
If my mom goes and makes a purchase at Amazon.com and her purchase, is there a guarantee that it won’t show up in my newsfeed? Currently there isn’t. There is also the chance that my mom didn’t choose to not have the purchase displayed. While Chris Kelly, Facebook’s Chief Privacy Officer, says that a box appears after individuals make a purchase, that box can disappear. I have already spoken with a number of individuals who have made purchases and the box didn’t show up (or at least they didn’t see it). If you make a purchase, don’t see the Facebook alert notification and suddenly your friends are notified, is that acceptable?
This accidental problem is going to be one that Facebook will be forced to resolve whether they like it or not. Peter Kafka suggests making the entire system opt-in. I’m not quite sure that will work but I’m also not sure what will. We are witnessing a test of individuals’ privacy limits and there are a few people that (as I have interpreted) are telling others to basically sit down and shut up. This will blow over they say.
While I don’t necessarily think that Facebook’s Beacon program is the ultimate test of individual privacy, I do believe that we are rapidly moving in a direction where some of us need to stand up and ask where the line will be drawn. While I will not suggest where that line falls in this post, we do need to figure it out. Otherwise we will sit down and watch someone else make that decision for us, the same way we so frequently (in this country at least) allow others to make major decisions that we aren’t happy with. The implications of a lack of privacy are significant and slightly frightening.
For Facebook Beacon, I think the question is: does this really makes our life better? Facebook in general has made most of our lives better. We all love connecting. Developers have enjoyed developing. Now marketers can enjoy marketing … in a pretty controversial way. Is this something that you want? Ultimately, the users can decide.
Part of the problem with Beacon is that it has to be aggressive in order to justify Facebook's insanely high valuation. Is Facebook really considering user experience when they have an opt out box that disappears after a few seconds?
An alternative for Facebook's advertising would be to charge for advanced features, like an email client and dating tools. This wouldn't make Facebook a multi-billion dollar company, but at least it would remain a helpful tool with less of a privacy trade off.
That's the “don't be evil” road Craigslist blazed, and I'm sorry to see so few other web companies do the same.
Part of the problem with Beacon is that it has to be aggressive in order to justify Facebook’s insanely high valuation. Is Facebook really considering user experience when they have an opt out box that disappears after a few seconds?
An alternative for Facebook’s advertising would be to charge for advanced features, like an email client and dating tools. This wouldn’t make Facebook a multi-billion dollar company, but at least it would remain a helpful tool with less of a privacy trade off.
That’s the “don’t be evil” road Craigslist blazed, and I’m sorry to see so few other web companies do the same.
Hey Nick,
For sure they have crossed over the line. Zuckerberg was a great poster boy for the new Web 2.0 economy and do no evil generation. However it feels like he has hired body guards and has crossed over to the dark side. I would not be surprised if he started dating Paris Hilton. The Facebook pendulum has started to swing the other way - prior to Beacon half the users hoped that Facebook was not profiling them and the other half had no idea what that meant. Now everyone knows they are profiling them and everyone is not so keen. Add to the mix the cozying up with Microsoft and you got the guilty by association thing happening.
Glad you write on this stuff Nick - it needs to be talked about. They can turn this ship around by pulling the plug right now and saying - “whoaaa what were we thinking!” and the users will go Yeah! That red headed dude cares about little old me!
Cheers,
Eric
Hey Nick,
For sure they have crossed over the line. Zuckerberg was a great poster boy for the new Web 2.0 economy and do no evil generation. However it feels like he has hired body guards and has crossed over to the dark side. I would not be surprised if he started dating Paris Hilton. The Facebook pendulum has started to swing the other way - prior to Beacon half the users hoped that Facebook was not profiling them and the other half had no idea what that meant. Now everyone knows they are profiling them and everyone is not so keen. Add to the mix the cozying up with Microsoft and you got the guilty by association thing happening.
Glad you write on this stuff Nick - it needs to be talked about. They can turn this ship around by pulling the plug right now and saying - “whoaaa what were we thinking!” and the users will go Yeah! That red headed dude cares about little old me!
Cheers,
Eric
Beacon provides no value to the everyday user. Instead of adding to a users experience, it adds usless information that users don't care about. Trust, reliability and relevance of information are cornerstones of Facebook's success.
If they start flying in the face of these principals, they run the risk of alienating a large portion of thier user base. Peter's suggestions to make beacon opt in and to give users a reason to use it, and make it FAR more valuable to the company in the long run.
Beacon provides no value to the everyday user. Instead of adding to a users experience, it adds usless information that users don’t care about. Trust, reliability and relevance of information are cornerstones of Facebook’s success.
If they start flying in the face of these principals, they run the risk of alienating a large portion of thier user base. Peter’s suggestions to make beacon opt in and to give users a reason to use it, and make it FAR more valuable to the company in the long run.
Nick
I'd have to say that yes, this is going to be a huge problem. If you've already talked to a few people who didn't get or see the box, then that means it's happening everywhere to a lot of people. A commenter on Charlene's blog said she asked her babysitter about a coat she bought - freaking the sitter out.
When we buy stuff from a retailer we do so in part because of our relationship with the retailer. That relationship doesn't include Facebook. And sometimes we buy things that we don't anyone to know about. Simply put, Facebook Beacon is wrong.
Here's a blog post I wrote about it:
http://marketingconversation.com/2007/11/24/fac...
Nick
I’d have to say that yes, this is going to be a huge problem. If you’ve already talked to a few people who didn’t get or see the box, then that means it’s happening everywhere to a lot of people. A commenter on Charlene’s blog said she asked her babysitter about a coat she bought - freaking the sitter out.
When we buy stuff from a retailer we do so in part because of our relationship with the retailer. That relationship doesn’t include Facebook. And sometimes we buy things that we don’t anyone to know about. Simply put, Facebook Beacon is wrong.
Here’s a blog post I wrote about it:
http://marketingconversation.com/2007/11/24/facebook-beacon-inst-in-the-users-interest-that-means-you/#more-2715
Eric,
That's hillarious that you say Mark Zuckerberg will start dating Paris Hilton. For some reason I don't see that happening, but you never know!
Best,
Nick
[...] I posted that it is time to start asking questions about Facebook Beacon. I wrote that “while I [...]
Eric,
That’s hillarious that you say Mark Zuckerberg will start dating Paris Hilton. For some reason I don’t see that happening, but you never know!
Best,
Nick
This issue seems to question a lot of people, including European Council… http://uk.reuters.com/article/technology-media-...
This issue seems to question a lot of people, including European Council… http://uk.reuters.com/article/technology-media-telco-SP/idUKL2364727520071123?feedType=RSS&feedName=technology-media-telco-SP&sp=true
[...] about the privacy concerns that are currently being actively discussed, this non-trivial javascript pattern for sharing data will most likely be used [...]