Did Facebook Just Shoot Itself?

If you have not heard yet, Facebook changed the way they do things with your information, photos and things you post to the site about two weeks ago. Now, before there is a panic and people start deleting their information, we should get to the bottom of the reason they changed their policy statement.

Many of you may be asking yourselves if your information and things you post to Facebook are protected? The bottomline answer is a wishy-washy yes and no. Facebook protects your information, but once you allow others to view that information, you lose your right to privacy because Facebook cannot guarantee that the person you just gave permission to use your information will use it according to how you wish it to be used.

In otherwords, you had better be careful who you share information with because once they have it, there is no telling what they will do with it. You had better be able to trust the person you are giving out information to before you entrust that information to them. Facebook changed their policy that better states how the information you use gets used. While they can delete your account and information, they cannot delete the information you have posted and given out to others because once that information has been given out, it becomes that person’s information, photos, videos and whatnot. Facebook cannot go into every single friend you have given permission to and delete your information. That is the basic jist of their new policy changes.

Now, to better ensure your information is not used in an adverse way, what you can do to avoid having problems later down the road, if you ever decide to delete your account with Facebook, is to not post anything that would cause problems for you down the road. Be responsible in posting and adding friends. Overall, that is the safest way to protect yourself. Either that, or just don’t let anyone know anything about yourself or don’t join Facebook. It is ultimately your choice!

Facebook is covering their butts with their latest policy changes. Facebook has huge numbers of people who have signed up with them who trust that Facebook will not use their information in an adverse way. If Facebook were to change their policies in a way that said they would use your information and mine and that they do not care about my sense of privacy, in effect stab me in the back, they would be shooting themselves in the foot and everyone on Facebook would quit in a heartbeat. No company that wishes to do good business is going to shoot themselves in the foot knowingly, especially a company like Facebook that counts on users being able to share information with their friends and people they trust. Using Facebook involves a lot of trust. It is what Facebook has built itself on.

But like people always say, “Trust no one further than you can throw them.” If Facebook users keep the company in check, Facebook will in turn stay trustworthy. Ultimately, Facebook is a business, and businesses are in the business of doing business. They want to make money and people have money. If no one uses Facebook, they cannot make any money. It is in their best interest to please their members and it is in the best interest for its users, you and me, to hold them accountable and be responsible with what you say and post!