So what IS the point?

[Fairportfan]

[MerchManDan]

Yeah, I'm having some issues with FB, myself; most notably, trying to hide some of the things I've "liked." Sorely tempted to create a shadow account to prevent any awkward situations.

[Boxilar]

Here's my tinfoil hat theory. Facebook is slowly trying to infiltrate itself into our lives in the name of the almighty dollar. The more you talk about stuff and like this or that, the more they can target ads to sell you stuff, just like Google. The implimentation is gradual, so while we grumble at each little invasion of privacy, we continue to use it.

Incedentally, Google is confused as hell by my apparent political leanings. During the election, the ad generator couldn't decide if I was a Romney or Obama suppourter, and I would often have ad banners for both on the same page.

[Atomic]

It's the Ten Thousand Threads problem. We go about our lives, leaving threads of information behind us like a spider trails a safety line. If someone can track all those threads, they learn who we are. A single thread can be broken, but ten thousand can bind us.

Computers allow the rapid analysis of minute, trivial detail en masse. It's a bit like Dan Aykroyd and company in the movie Sneakers sorting through somebody's garbage to see who they are.

And then sell you stuff -- or sell that information to people who want to sell you stuff!

YouTube does it too: Reading some e-mail, I was linked to a fun video of an England's Got Talent (amazing singer) episode, and another about high speed images of things things being destroyed, like a Piggy Bank vs Lawn Mower. For the next week, no matter where I went on YouTube, there were at least two links to people singing/dancing on TV shows and stuff exploding whether I searched for Pokemon, Trains, or Sailboats. (OK - some Pokemon explode, but that's not the point.)

Marketers want to know their market. But, how can we hide from those with malice intended?

[MerchManDan]

Holy smokes, I can't believe I forgot to link this very relevant article:

Facebook users are unwittingly revealing intimate secrets – including their sexual orientation, drug use and political beliefs – using only public "like" updates, according to a study of online privacy.

The research into 58,000 Facebook users in the US found that sensitive personal characteristics about people can be accurately inferred from information in the public domain.

Researchers were able to accurately infer a Facebook user's race, IQ, sexuality, substance use, personality or political views using only a record of the subjects and items they had "liked" on Facebook – even if users had chosen not to reveal that information.

The study will reopen the debate about privacy in the digital age and raise fresh concerns about what information people share online.

Michal Kosinski, one of the academics behind the study, said he believed Facebook users would be "spooked" by the findings and called for regulatory intervention by politicians.

"The important point is that, on one hand, it is good that people's behaviour is predictable because it means Facebook can suggest very good stories on your news feed," said Kosinski, the lead Cambridge University analyst who worked with Microsoft Research on the study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) journal.

"But what is shocking is that you can use the same data to predict your political views or your sexual orientation. This is something most people don't realise you can do."

He warned that certain information – such as sexuality or religious views – could pose threats to internet users' safety if it got into the wrong hands. "Everyone carries around their Facebook 'likes', their browsing history and their search history, trusting corporations that it will be used to predict their movies or music tastes," Kosinski said.

"But if you ask about governments, I am not sure people would like them to predict things like religion or sexuality, especially in less peaceful or illiberal countries."

The researchers used computer software to predict personality traits, but said the same information could be collected by anyone with training in data analysis. They were able to draw "surprisingly accurate" findings about people by aggregating swaths of seemingly innocuous "likes", such as TV shows and movies.

They said they were able to predict whether men were homosexual with 88% accuracy by their likes of Facebook pages such as "Human Rights Campaign" and "Wicked the Musical" – even if those users had not explicitly shared their sexuality on the site. Fewer than 5% of the homosexual participants in the study clicked obvious Likes, such as "Gay Marriage", researchers said.

Computer software inferred with 88% accuracy whether a male Facebook user was homosexual or heterosexual – even if that person chose not to explicitly reveal that information. It had a 75% accuracy rate for predicting drug use among Facebook users, analysing only public "like" updates. The findings will reignite concerns over how much private companies and governments know about internet users through their online habits.

"I hope internet users will change their ways and choose products and services that respect their privacy," said Kosinski. "Companies like Microsoft and Facebook depend on users willing to use their service – but this is limited when it comes to Facebook because 1 billion people use it."

Online sites such as Facebook should be forced by regulation to inform users that deeply private information may be gleaned about them using the same technology that recommends films and music, he added.

The findings come shortly after Facebook announced a partnership with four of the world's biggest data brokers aimed at improving targeted advertising on the site. The move means Facebook can target ads to its users based on their online and offline activity, including their location and high street shopping habits.

Facebook declined to comment.

I've also heard that "liking" the Colbert Report, curly fries and thunderstorms are indicative of a higher IQ, but that's another story.

Here's my tinfoil hat theory. Facebook is slowly trying to infiltrate itself into our lives in the name of the almighty dollar. The more you talk about stuff and like this or that, the more they can target ads to sell you stuff, just like Google. The implimentation is gradual, so while we grumble at each little invasion of privacy, we continue to use it.

That's a theory? I thought it was a fact of online life.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

And people wonder why I refuse to get a Failbook account...

[DinkyInky]

And people wonder why I refuse to get a Failbook account...

Ditto.

[Typeminer]

But you get it for free.

Just like Frank Purdue puts out all that free feed for the chickens.

[shadowinthelight]

That is why I keep an account so old friends can find me but stay logged out (email will tell me if I get a private message) and never like anything. They can't analyze you if you don't give them data.

[Julie]

Meh...I only like things that I'd be comfortable with the more hot-headed/easily offended/business associated people in my life knowing about. That way even if my privacy settings don't protect the information, I'm not worried about who sees what. I like having a Facebook account. I'm only mildly concerned about people learning things about me through that system since I figure a lot of the information available there could be found through other means.

[bmonk]

But you get it for free.

Just like Frank Purdue puts out all that free feed for the chickens.

"If you get it for free, you are the product, not the consumer."