FACEBOOK - CAN it be tamed ... and useful ?

[Bud]

I think the whole idea of awarding a big prize based on online voting score is fundamenally wrong. Keysight lost me on this one. Could be good publicity and brand promotion/awareness but has -nothing- to do with the right nominee selection.

[rx8pilot]

You may all be shocked to hear that I agree.

[med6753]

I guess I'm either anti-social or a hermit. I have a facebook account but I never use it. If I log into it more than once every few months that's a lot. I have to laugh at these individuals who every time they do something mundane they have to post it on social media. Who gives a crap? I don't. 

And I don't tweet or any of the other "look at me, I'm stupid" social sites. 

[tooki]

* As an aside, I was like most people, assuming that most Americans with debt (other than mortgages for homes, which don't count as "bad" debt) were simply irresponsible people who spent frivolously -- until I read about 10 years ago that 62% of people who file for bankruptcy in USA were in debt simply because of medical issues.

Yep, and makes you wonder how that many were not interested in trying to change that

It truly boggles the mind. It makes absolutely no sense, and even more perverse is the fact that many of the people most vocally against change are the ones who stand to gain the most!

Anybody that thinks privacy can be had by simply not posting or not willfully providing information needs to use Firefox for a while with Ghostery and Self Destructing Cookies installed. You are being watched, actively monitored and tracked practically everywhere you go on the internet.

FYI, Ghostery exists for every major browser. It's shocking (not exaggerated) how fast web browsing becomes with it installed, blocking the dozens of pieces of javascript junk that most sites load on every page, turning small pages into lumbering pigs.

Do you really need the cookie killer? Most browsers now let you restrict cookies to only the same domain as the page, and with Ghostery blocking nearly every tracker, they're not getting the chance to set most cookies to begin with!

[DimitriP]

It could have been worse.
They could have required a LinkedIN account.
Sure,  I have one. But I am there for my benefit, not theirs.
I am not linked to anyone AND i mispelled my name AND I use an email address that no one else knows about.

Back to FB, if you have family that is already on FB and they are not all in the same zipcode, country or even continent, it makes it really easy to keep in touch without having to deal with timezones

Facebook will only suck your soul if you let it. And whatever they know is probably already known to the data companies through your grocery store, insurance company, oil change place, Best Buy , any company you ever bought warranty for anything and lets not forget google, apple or microsoft.

So yeah...... go vote please !  

[Brumby]

Anybody that thinks privacy can be had by simply not posting or not willfully providing information needs to use Firefox for a while with Ghostery and Self Destructing Cookies installed. You are being watched, actively monitored and tracked practically everywhere you go on the internet.

So, do you just unplug and only use your computer as a stand alone machine?

That the internet 'spies' on us is not news - but my question is: Is FB any worse?


Some food for thought:

I think the danger of Facebook and any other internet social system is for the people that do not understand how to behave. They behave as though it is a fake virtual society and do not consider that it is permanent and made of real people connected by a network. Those are the people that announce they are going out of town for a month and they are so bummed to leave their beloved house on 123 Elm Street for that long.

People talk about their various health issues freely, family problems, bad relationships, etc. and then complain that everyone knows all of this shit. WTF? For things that are private, do not post them on the internet. For things that are very private, do not have them on a computer at all - (ie, sex tapes, passwords, etc.)

I use FB very very general personal communication and to maintain an ability for various relatives and friends to be able to find me for weddings, reunions, and the like. Professionally, it is a great resource for groups to share ideas and happenings. My profile has absolutely no information that I would not share with anyone else in public. It only takes a little common sense and FB is a useful digital feature of the digital world we live in.

[Kilrah]

That the internet 'spies' on us is not news - but my question is: Is FB any worse?

I would say better. They are one entity that does one thing and mention it pretty clearly. Every other website you visit reports to a dozen of likes of Facebook under the hood, without telling you about it nor what they report about.

[Brumby]

Interesting.  Two replies with opposite opinions.

Not that that is a bad thing, but may I ask - are these opinions based on known examples or general feeling?

[Brumby]

Fair enough.

I have a FB account, but I wouldn't call myself a FB user by any stretch of the imagination.  This voting for Carlos is the most intensive FB thing I've ever done (and probably ever likely to do).

[rdl]

...
Do you really need the cookie killer? Most browsers now let you restrict cookies to only the same domain as the page, and with Ghostery blocking nearly every tracker, they're not getting the chance to set most cookies to begin with!

I just recently started using SelfDestructingCookies, but it seems to me like a better way to keep cookies under control than trying to do it with browser settings. One thing I've noticed is that it works on a per tab basis so shutting down the browser isn't necessary to clear them out.