Facebook is pushing its users to make their profile information public, and as with any change the popular site makes, there is a lot of controversy surrounding it. As a member of numerous social networking sites, some public and some private, I have mixed feelings surrounding my privacy settings on Facebook.
First, to begin with the all too over-used comparison between Facebook and Twitter. On Twitter, I know my updates are public, therefore I don't post all my business there, and I don't use my full name on my profile because I don't want my tweets to showing up in Google search results above my portfolio site when I do a vanity search. Facebook on the other hand, advertises itself as a place to share your life with your family and friends. Maybe some people use the term "friend" more loosely, but to me, a friend is someone I would want to hang out with in real life, hence 95% of my Facebook friends are people I know outside of the interwebs. The privacy of Facebook allows me to post more intimate details of my life, as well as photos of my son to those I am comfortable showing that information to. Twitter and Facebook serve two different purposes for me and they do it well just the way they are.
I understand that Facebook is a free service that has the right to make changes to their site and policies as they please, but if they continue to knock down the walled garden, there is a lot of personal data I will have to delete and status updates and photos I will no longer be able to post, making it useless for how I want to use my account. And yes, I understand that Facebook has update by update privacy control, but those controls are not available on the iPhone app which is my main way of using the service.
Twitter provides simplicity. You sign up and can start tweeting away instantly. Facebook is the PC of the social networking world. You sign up, and have to spend some time setting up privacy settings for each section of your profile and creating friend lists to control who can see various parts of your profile before you ever post your first update.
My biggest problem with Facebook's privacy strip tease is: What are their plans for any publicly shared information? Will all my updates and photos eventually show up in Google search results attached to my full name? Will my profile picture be used in an advertisement on another friend's page? I would be more open to making more of my profile public if Facebook would be more open with me.
UPDATE: Poll Results 1/12/10 - 1/19/10
Is public the new social norm?
20% Yes
60% No
20% Meh
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Updates Via Facebook iPhone App May Not Be Private.
As social networking gains in popularity so does concerns about privacy. One of the most widely adopted sites, Facebook, offers a lot of customization when it comes to who sees what on a member's profile. Recently, Facebook gave users the option to open up their profiles and allow any section to be visible by everyone on internet. They also added a publisher control so users could modify who is able and not able to see content published on their profiles.
On my Facebook profile, everything was set to either "Friends of Friends" or "Only Friends" except anything that had to do with promoting my blog. The website was visible by everyone who visited my profile as well as any announcements about new blog entries. My default publisher control setting was set to "Only Friends" and I selectively choose when something was supposed to be publicly available. Personal status updates that had nothing to do with my site had a tiny lock icon under the post indicating only friends were allowed to see it.
After I upgraded to the Facebook 3.0 iPhone app, I noticed that status updates via the app did not have the tiny lock under the post. At first, I figured these updates would follow my default publisher control setting and would only be viewable by friends. Eventually, my curiosity got the better of me and I created a dummy account to see what my Facebook profile looked like to non-friends. To my surprise, every update made via the iPhone app was visible on my wall and did not follow my privacy settings. Since there are no privacy controls on the Facebook iPhone app, the most logical thing would be for any update to follow the default publisher control setting unless given the option to choose otherwise.
After my discovery, I felt my only option was to lock down my Facebook profile and make all my status updates visible by only friends until Facebook allows me to have more control over who sees posts made via my iPhone. I conclude with a word of caution for those using the Facebook iPhone app: If your profile privacy is set to "Everyone" yet you want to selectively control which updates are visible on your wall by non-friends, just keep in mind any updates made on the iPhone offer no privacy control and are all public.
UPDATE: 9/8/09 - According to TechCrunch, Facebook has resolved this bug with a server-side fix, although I have not tested it myself. The article also addresses other privacy bugs on the Facebook iPhone app.
UPDATE: Poll Results 9/2/09 - 9/9/09
How open is your Facebook profile?
00% Open to everyone
40% Visible to friends only
60% Customized privacy
00% I don't use Facebook
On my Facebook profile, everything was set to either "Friends of Friends" or "Only Friends" except anything that had to do with promoting my blog. The website was visible by everyone who visited my profile as well as any announcements about new blog entries. My default publisher control setting was set to "Only Friends" and I selectively choose when something was supposed to be publicly available. Personal status updates that had nothing to do with my site had a tiny lock icon under the post indicating only friends were allowed to see it.
After I upgraded to the Facebook 3.0 iPhone app, I noticed that status updates via the app did not have the tiny lock under the post. At first, I figured these updates would follow my default publisher control setting and would only be viewable by friends. Eventually, my curiosity got the better of me and I created a dummy account to see what my Facebook profile looked like to non-friends. To my surprise, every update made via the iPhone app was visible on my wall and did not follow my privacy settings. Since there are no privacy controls on the Facebook iPhone app, the most logical thing would be for any update to follow the default publisher control setting unless given the option to choose otherwise.
After my discovery, I felt my only option was to lock down my Facebook profile and make all my status updates visible by only friends until Facebook allows me to have more control over who sees posts made via my iPhone. I conclude with a word of caution for those using the Facebook iPhone app: If your profile privacy is set to "Everyone" yet you want to selectively control which updates are visible on your wall by non-friends, just keep in mind any updates made on the iPhone offer no privacy control and are all public.
UPDATE: 9/8/09 - According to TechCrunch, Facebook has resolved this bug with a server-side fix, although I have not tested it myself. The article also addresses other privacy bugs on the Facebook iPhone app.
UPDATE: Poll Results 9/2/09 - 9/9/09
How open is your Facebook profile?
00% Open to everyone
40% Visible to friends only
60% Customized privacy
00% I don't use Facebook
Friday, August 7, 2009
My Love-Hate Relationship With iTMS
iTunes Music Store, why can't I quit you? Since the beginning, I have had a love-hate relationship with you and your ways. I put up with paying the price you ask in exchange for ease of use and the ability to quickly find and download tracks I want. Your seamless functionality with my iPhone makes me forget that you sometimes only carry partial albums of the electronic music I love so deeply. I tolerate your lower audio quality and DRM in exchange for your music recommendations and guilt-free listening enjoyment knowing that did not jip my favorite artists out of a few bucks.
With all your good qualities like the App Store, movies, and podcasts how can a girl not be satisfied? Well, dear iTMS, let me tell you why you're in the dog house. I paid for a collection of children's music for my son and when I tried to burn a MP3 CD of the songs to play in my car, you denied me. You jumped up and down in the bottom of my screen and alerted me the tracks I purchased from you could not be burned to an MP3 CD. How dare you!
Yes, I know I could burn a bunch of individual audio CDs of the music, but have you ever had to listen to the same 10 children's songs in the car over and over again? It is torture! A second option is to take the time to burn audio CDs and reimport the music as MP3s and then burn them yet again to a single MP3 CD. Exhausting! Furthermore, explain to me why it is easier to illegally download music and burn a MP3 CD in less steps than music I legitimately paid for using your service? Why are you making me jump through hoops? Even if you're business model is to sell iPods and iPhones, I'm curious why your top priority would not be making me and your many other loyal customers happy.
I've given you my support and my hard earned money, but you spit in my face and tell me I cannot do what I want with the music I purchase from you. But alas, I cannot quit you because I am entangled in your evil web of hardware and software that I cannot live without, so for now, our love-hate relationship will go on.
UPDATE: I forgot to mention the children's music was purchased before iTMS went DRM-free, and of course I can update the music in my library at a cost. I checked and DRM-free tunes can be converted to MP3, and I assume they can be burned to MP3 CD. However, I don't feel I should have to pay extra money to convert songs I paid for in the first place.
UPDATE: Poll Results 8/7/09 - 8/14/09
Do you love or hate the iTunes Music Store?
50% Love it!
25% Hate it!
25% It's ok.
00% I've had better.
With all your good qualities like the App Store, movies, and podcasts how can a girl not be satisfied? Well, dear iTMS, let me tell you why you're in the dog house. I paid for a collection of children's music for my son and when I tried to burn a MP3 CD of the songs to play in my car, you denied me. You jumped up and down in the bottom of my screen and alerted me the tracks I purchased from you could not be burned to an MP3 CD. How dare you!
Yes, I know I could burn a bunch of individual audio CDs of the music, but have you ever had to listen to the same 10 children's songs in the car over and over again? It is torture! A second option is to take the time to burn audio CDs and reimport the music as MP3s and then burn them yet again to a single MP3 CD. Exhausting! Furthermore, explain to me why it is easier to illegally download music and burn a MP3 CD in less steps than music I legitimately paid for using your service? Why are you making me jump through hoops? Even if you're business model is to sell iPods and iPhones, I'm curious why your top priority would not be making me and your many other loyal customers happy.
I've given you my support and my hard earned money, but you spit in my face and tell me I cannot do what I want with the music I purchase from you. But alas, I cannot quit you because I am entangled in your evil web of hardware and software that I cannot live without, so for now, our love-hate relationship will go on.
UPDATE: I forgot to mention the children's music was purchased before iTMS went DRM-free, and of course I can update the music in my library at a cost. I checked and DRM-free tunes can be converted to MP3, and I assume they can be burned to MP3 CD. However, I don't feel I should have to pay extra money to convert songs I paid for in the first place.
UPDATE: Poll Results 8/7/09 - 8/14/09
Do you love or hate the iTunes Music Store?
50% Love it!
25% Hate it!
25% It's ok.
00% I've had better.
Twitter Attacked To Silence One Or Silence All?
Yesterday, many social networking and blogging sites, including Twitter and facebook, were brought to their knees because of a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack. According to CNet, the cyber attack was implemented by Russian hackers to silence an outspoken pro-Georgian blogger who goes by the name "Cyxymu."
I have never even heard about Cyxymu or his blog until today, therefor I have my doubts that an individual with little influence in the rest of the world would be the target of an attack this momentous. Number one, a DDoS attack would only cripple a site for a short period of time, so if the hackers' intention was to single out this blogger and silence him, it wasn't very effective. Number two, the attack brought so much media attention, Cyxymu will gain numerous more followers and supporters now making the scheme counter-productive on the hackers' part.
This whole scenario just doesn't add up to me. Either the hackers who launched this attack were amateurs, or the attack was not focused on silencing one person but to temporarily silence us all. Many attacks like this have no motivation other than to prove it can be done.
I'm curious what your feeling are on the DDoS attacks yesterday. Could it be politically motivated or just random? Are we making too big of a deal about social media being shut down for a few hours? Please share you thoughts.
I have never even heard about Cyxymu or his blog until today, therefor I have my doubts that an individual with little influence in the rest of the world would be the target of an attack this momentous. Number one, a DDoS attack would only cripple a site for a short period of time, so if the hackers' intention was to single out this blogger and silence him, it wasn't very effective. Number two, the attack brought so much media attention, Cyxymu will gain numerous more followers and supporters now making the scheme counter-productive on the hackers' part.
This whole scenario just doesn't add up to me. Either the hackers who launched this attack were amateurs, or the attack was not focused on silencing one person but to temporarily silence us all. Many attacks like this have no motivation other than to prove it can be done.
I'm curious what your feeling are on the DDoS attacks yesterday. Could it be politically motivated or just random? Are we making too big of a deal about social media being shut down for a few hours? Please share you thoughts.
Friday, July 3, 2009
My iPhone 3GS Diary
On June 19, I paced the halls at work and had a constant eye on the front door as I waited for UPS to deliver my new iPhone 3GS. Around 10:00 AM, I saw that beautiful brown truck pull into in the parking lot, and I ran to greet the driver. When he handed me a single flat envelope, I said, "That's not my iPhone." The driver told me that he didn't have any more deliveries at my address, but someone at the business next door was getting one, and he was the only truck scheduled to stop there for the day. My beaming smile faded from my face.
The driver went outside to check the iPhone designated to go next door just to make sure, then he returned and handed the box to me after he saw it was addressed to my name. Apparently, when my job relocated to a new building a few months ago, everyone was given the wrong address, and no one thought to later inform all the employees of this oversight. But it didn't matter, I had my iPhone in hand.
I ran back to my office to unbox my new most prized gadget. I took the iPhone out of the box and carefully removed the screen protective cover. In awe, I held the phone in my hand, but what was this? I rubbed my finger along to narrow sides around the case. It was not smooth like my vintage 2G iPhone. Where the silver met the plastic back (in my case black), there was a raised, slightly sharp edge. This did not set right with me. In fact, the new iPhone felt cheap. This was supposed to be a day of joy, but I was starting to regret my $299 purchase. I LOVED my 2G iPhone. I was even a little teary-eyed about replacing the original iPhone with the 3GS. That thing was a tank and had been so good to me, and here was this cheaply put-together device mocking me.
I thought, maybe I was just being overly picky and tried to accept the new iPhone. I went home from work and plugged the iPhone into my iMac to activate it and set it up. However, I couldn't stop rubbing my fingers along the edge. I could feel it as I held the phone in my palm, and my disappointment had not diminished. When my husband got home, I asked him to take a look at my 3GS, and he agreed it didn't look or feel right.
Feeling justified in my complaint, I decided to call Apple support. After a ten minute hold time, I got on the line with an agent. I explained the problem and was quickly informed it was a factory defect and to take my iPhone 3GS to the nearest Apple Store for an exchange. The agent scheduled me an appointment at the Genius Bar for Sunday. I let out a sigh of relief knowing in a couple of days my iPhone woes would be woos.
On (Father's Day) Sunday, I went on a field trip to the Apple Store with high hopes of leaving with a perfect iPhone 3GS. I waited for over a half hour only to kindly be told that they can't swap out my iPhone because they do not have any replacement units in the stock yet for online orders, and I would need to call Apple support again to have a new unit mailed to me. My smile faded again. What a waste of time! Plus, I lost a valuable jump start on the shipping process.
On Monday, I called Apple support again and got another friendly agent who arranged my iPhone replacement by mail. The new phone would be shipped overnight priority and he waved the $29 fee. The only catch was I had to provide a credit card number so Apple could secure they would get an iPhone (or the cost of an iPhone) back, and a hold for the non-subsidized price of $699 was placed on my card. That was enough to make me gulp but not enough to keep me from getting a perfect iPhone.
The next day and a half was painful as a waited for my replacement iPhone. I never bonded with defective one and I couldn't wait to finally have my iPhone. Plus, I was tired of babying the thing because if anything happened to it, I would be stuck with it.
Then finally, my delivery showed up while I was at work on Wednesday, June 24. I immediately did the unboxing, and was thrilled to run my fingers along the silky smooth edges of my new iPhone 3GS. It was beautiful and love at first sight. As soon as I got home, I synced my new iPhone, put on my Mindbender Gelaskin, and prepared the defective phone to ship back to Apple.
As I played with my perfect 3GS, I knew this was the beginning of a beautiful relationship. I was loving it! That was until yesterday (July 2) when I discovered a scratch on the screen. A tiny millimeter hairline scratch at the bottom of the screen. I couldn't believe it! I was so careful with my iPhone. It stayed in my pocket all alone. I've never dropped it. I even lined its assigned cup holder in my car with tissues to make sure my iPhone stayed safe and secure.
Was the oleophobic coating on the screen to blame? I stuck by my decision to not degrade the picture quality by using a screen protectant film, as I discussed in my blog: Do iPhones Need Screen Protectors? The post included a link to a video of an iPhone endurance test that showed how scratch resistant the iPhone 3G screen was. Not to mention, I used my 2G iPhone for two years and never got a scratch on it. So how was it possible that I got a scratch on my iPhone 3GS screen in less than two weeks of ownership? The only physical difference was the addition of the oleophobic coating.
The scratch was extremely minor and was not even visible when using the phone, so eventually I will get over it. The first scratch on any new device is always the hardest. However, this minor imperfection made me wonder if I should buy a screen protector. I'm waiting for someone to do scratch test on the 3GS to confirm if it's more prone the scratches or not.
My first two weeks with the iPhone 3GS have been a roller coaster of emotion, but in the end, I'm happy with my new phone. I'm curious about other iPhone owners' experiences. Has it been painless or eventful? And has anyone else noticed any scratches already on their 3GS and would you recommend using a screen protective film?
UPDATE: Poll Results 7/4/09 - 7/11/09
Which iPhone(s) do you own?
66% 2G (Original)
50% 3G
66% 3GS
16% No iPhone
Does your iPhone wear protection?
00% Screen protector only
14% Case only
00% Case & screen protector
14% Skin or sticker
42% No protection needed
28% No iPhone
The driver went outside to check the iPhone designated to go next door just to make sure, then he returned and handed the box to me after he saw it was addressed to my name. Apparently, when my job relocated to a new building a few months ago, everyone was given the wrong address, and no one thought to later inform all the employees of this oversight. But it didn't matter, I had my iPhone in hand.
I ran back to my office to unbox my new most prized gadget. I took the iPhone out of the box and carefully removed the screen protective cover. In awe, I held the phone in my hand, but what was this? I rubbed my finger along to narrow sides around the case. It was not smooth like my vintage 2G iPhone. Where the silver met the plastic back (in my case black), there was a raised, slightly sharp edge. This did not set right with me. In fact, the new iPhone felt cheap. This was supposed to be a day of joy, but I was starting to regret my $299 purchase. I LOVED my 2G iPhone. I was even a little teary-eyed about replacing the original iPhone with the 3GS. That thing was a tank and had been so good to me, and here was this cheaply put-together device mocking me.
I thought, maybe I was just being overly picky and tried to accept the new iPhone. I went home from work and plugged the iPhone into my iMac to activate it and set it up. However, I couldn't stop rubbing my fingers along the edge. I could feel it as I held the phone in my palm, and my disappointment had not diminished. When my husband got home, I asked him to take a look at my 3GS, and he agreed it didn't look or feel right.
Feeling justified in my complaint, I decided to call Apple support. After a ten minute hold time, I got on the line with an agent. I explained the problem and was quickly informed it was a factory defect and to take my iPhone 3GS to the nearest Apple Store for an exchange. The agent scheduled me an appointment at the Genius Bar for Sunday. I let out a sigh of relief knowing in a couple of days my iPhone woes would be woos.
On (Father's Day) Sunday, I went on a field trip to the Apple Store with high hopes of leaving with a perfect iPhone 3GS. I waited for over a half hour only to kindly be told that they can't swap out my iPhone because they do not have any replacement units in the stock yet for online orders, and I would need to call Apple support again to have a new unit mailed to me. My smile faded again. What a waste of time! Plus, I lost a valuable jump start on the shipping process.
On Monday, I called Apple support again and got another friendly agent who arranged my iPhone replacement by mail. The new phone would be shipped overnight priority and he waved the $29 fee. The only catch was I had to provide a credit card number so Apple could secure they would get an iPhone (or the cost of an iPhone) back, and a hold for the non-subsidized price of $699 was placed on my card. That was enough to make me gulp but not enough to keep me from getting a perfect iPhone.
The next day and a half was painful as a waited for my replacement iPhone. I never bonded with defective one and I couldn't wait to finally have my iPhone. Plus, I was tired of babying the thing because if anything happened to it, I would be stuck with it.
Then finally, my delivery showed up while I was at work on Wednesday, June 24. I immediately did the unboxing, and was thrilled to run my fingers along the silky smooth edges of my new iPhone 3GS. It was beautiful and love at first sight. As soon as I got home, I synced my new iPhone, put on my Mindbender Gelaskin, and prepared the defective phone to ship back to Apple.
As I played with my perfect 3GS, I knew this was the beginning of a beautiful relationship. I was loving it! That was until yesterday (July 2) when I discovered a scratch on the screen. A tiny millimeter hairline scratch at the bottom of the screen. I couldn't believe it! I was so careful with my iPhone. It stayed in my pocket all alone. I've never dropped it. I even lined its assigned cup holder in my car with tissues to make sure my iPhone stayed safe and secure.
Was the oleophobic coating on the screen to blame? I stuck by my decision to not degrade the picture quality by using a screen protectant film, as I discussed in my blog: Do iPhones Need Screen Protectors? The post included a link to a video of an iPhone endurance test that showed how scratch resistant the iPhone 3G screen was. Not to mention, I used my 2G iPhone for two years and never got a scratch on it. So how was it possible that I got a scratch on my iPhone 3GS screen in less than two weeks of ownership? The only physical difference was the addition of the oleophobic coating.
The scratch was extremely minor and was not even visible when using the phone, so eventually I will get over it. The first scratch on any new device is always the hardest. However, this minor imperfection made me wonder if I should buy a screen protector. I'm waiting for someone to do scratch test on the 3GS to confirm if it's more prone the scratches or not.
My first two weeks with the iPhone 3GS have been a roller coaster of emotion, but in the end, I'm happy with my new phone. I'm curious about other iPhone owners' experiences. Has it been painless or eventful? And has anyone else noticed any scratches already on their 3GS and would you recommend using a screen protective film?
UPDATE: Poll Results 7/4/09 - 7/11/09
Which iPhone(s) do you own?
66% 2G (Original)
50% 3G
66% 3GS
16% No iPhone
Does your iPhone wear protection?
00% Screen protector only
14% Case only
00% Case & screen protector
14% Skin or sticker
42% No protection needed
28% No iPhone
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