I watched in fascination the other day CNBC's program, "The Facebook Obsession." I realized that I, too, have become complacent about sharing bits of personal and private information on a public forum. It didn't happen overnight; just like the proverbial frog in the pan of water, it happened a little at a time, never enough to make me uncomfortable, until all at once, I realized I was in boiling water. Unlike the stupid frog, however, I was smart enough to hop out of the pot before I got boiled to death.
It took me all of an hour to purge personal information from my profile of Facebook. i have my doubts, however that all of that information has just disappeared into the air somewhere. There is still a nagging suspicion that somewhere in the belly of the facebook beast, my information still resides, at the beck and call of some techno-geek, ready to retrieve for some government agent because I am no longer sharing my information with the matrix.Call me paranoid, but there is something really wrong about a private company that is worth billions, and run by a young, liberal idealist (who had one of his key employees help Chairman Zero get elected), with no accountability. and this company stores information on over half a billion people!
I really don't want for something to happen to me, and the news media report,"...and he had recently written ________on his facebook page..." And what business it it really, for a company to know my demographics that I voluntarily posted, so they can profit by allowing their advertisers to target me specifically? Why, like with any other company, are we not allowed to opt out?
So I think for now, Facebook will keep my account, but I will choose carefully what to share with them, and I will limit my demographic information to the minimum, and not use "Like," "Check in.," or any applications. I mean, who among us would allow a complete stranger to come to our door and say, "OK, I'm going to move in with you so you can stay in contact with all your friends, share your private life, and I'm going to allow advertisers to contact you based on what I know about you.?"
I am limited to a certain number of characters to post my ramblings on Facebook anyway. I have more room in my blog, and it's still possible to post comments, share pictures, etc. It's been a while since I used this forum, anyway. I always liked it better, I can edit easier, and only those who choose to come here can see everything I write anyway.
