Facebook's Privacy Trainwreck: Exposure, Invasion, and Social Convergence" by Danah Boyd From Convergence (2008)

In 2004, Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg launched the social networking site Facebook. Originally open to only college student, it expanded to high school and eventually to all people. Danah Boyd’s “Facebook’s Privacy Trainwreck: Exposure, Invasion, and Social Convergence” gives in a depth look at September 2006’s newest addition of the ‘News Feeds’ to Facebook. The ‘News Feeds’ allowed for users to see various information recently preformed by Friends. News Feed highlights information that includes profile changes, upcoming events, and birthdays, among other updates. News Feed also shows conversations taking place between the walls of a user's friends. The information given in News Feed was public to all if one was so inclined to search their friend’s profiles for it. The New Feed caused much of a stir due to privacy issues. Boyd’s article discusses people’s discomfort from two angles: exposure and invasion.

As a Facebook member since 2006, I must admit the New Feed did not bother me, but maybe because I had only been on Facebook for a couple months. I could understand how people felt vulnerable, thinking their dirty little secrets were being shared with the world. The secrets were not being shared with the world, only their Facebook Friends, friends that they accepted or friended themselves. After the initial uproar Mark Zuckerberg apologized for the new feature. He explained the new privacy features that would limit people’s “secrets” from popping up on others News Feeds. People were able to limit their exposure to others. While this aricle says the News Feed does not distinguished between friends, it treats them all like equals I must disagree. My News Feed is usually filled with information strictly from people whose profiles I constantly view/view frequently.

While Facebook is heads and shoulders above MySpace on the privacy level. All the time you would hear about predators lurking on MySpace and sexually assaulting others. Facebook has not been used in this way. Due to the “friends” counters on MySpace young girls would try to build that number up by accepting strangers, Facebook was not open to young girls are first making it safe from predators. The other great use for Facebook is its ability as a networking tool. I try to friend everyone I come in contact with for the mere fact that maybe later in life I will need him or her for something related to my career. It allows for me to keep in contact with them. Mark Zuckerberg says the purpose of Facebook was to help people share information more efficiently. People should not complain when things like News Feeds are added. They know what they were getting themselves into when they signed up. They have the option to set their profile privacy.

Its ironic people would complain about this since there is no clear right to privacy specifically laid out in the Constitution. I feel like in this digital age where information is so easily obtainable on the Internet eventually new laws are going to be needed to protect us.