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[Updated with more comment and analysis of the Facebook changes]
Facebook has been mucking around with its privacy settings again. Cue much fear, uncertainty, and doubt from the peanut gallery. Some say this is a direct response to Google+, others that it shows Zuckerberg is listening to users' concerns. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers analyze the changes.
Your humble blogwatcher curated these bloggy bits for your entertainment. Not to mention: Portal: No Escape -- excellent indy fan movie...
Juan Carlos Perez reportz:
The main change is that Facebook will now display the intended audience for...content right next to it. ... Until now, those controls have been in a separate Settings section. ... Now, every piece of content...will have a drop-down menu that lists its current access level, and other available options.
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Facebook is also introducing a review period for photos and posts in which users are tagged, [so they can] review the photo or post before it's displayed on their profile. ... Facebook is also expanding users' ability to tag others and label posts with geographical locations.
Hayley Tsukayama adds:
[The] changes to the sites sharing policies feel a little Google+-like. Facebook...now allows users to choose which friend groups to share information with. ... Users will also be able to add and remove locations from their...posts and tag pictures of people they havent friended. ...[It] eliminate[s] that strange dance people go through when they friend someone just to tag them in a party picture [which] combined with the option to approve or reject tagged photos before theyre associated with your name...doesnt seem...scary.
Facebook's Chris Cox blogs the changes:
The main change is moving most of your controls from a settings page to being inline. ... Plus there are several other updates here that will make it easier to understand who can see your stuff...in any context. ... A side benefit of moving most settings to inline controls is a much shorter and simpler Settings page. ... These changes will start to roll out in the coming days. ... We'll look forward to your feedback. ... [We] hope these new tools make it easier to share with exactly who you want, and that the...experience is a lot clearer and...more fun.
Emil Protalinski thinks location:
[B]uried in its...announcement, the company noted that it is killing Facebook Places. At the same time, Facebook is adding a lot more location features. ... [It's] now letting you add your current location to anything...regardless of what device you are using. ... Facebook is clearly trying to get users...accustomed to sharing their location. ...[P]rivacy advocates are going to scrutinize it very closely.
And Robert Scoble offers this apologia:
[O]ne thing I admire about Zuckerberg is hes a great learner. When people bash him for being too far out in front...he drops back and does what people want before pushing ahead again. ... Zuckerberg understands that the use case of Facebook is for folks to talk to their...families and friends. ... That user doesnt understand...folks like me who want to...find people around the world I dont really know. ... Google+ users will recognize three of those features...since theyve had them for six weeks. ... as long as Facebook keeps matching Googles best features...theres no way most of its users will switch. ... Users are freaked out about privacy ... [but] these settings...might get Facebook users to relax...and start sharing some items with a wider group of people, which...could help it stave off the very real threat that Google+ does still represent.
But an incandescent Graham Cluley brands it a "missed opportunity":
Facebook may be reacting more to Google+ rather than making a fundamental shift in its attitude to...privacy. ... Photo-tagging is...one of the most unpopular elements of the site. ...[M]any Facebook users would like the ability to block anyone from tagging them...rather than simply blocking the photo from appearing on their profile. ... [They'll] continu[e] to request that people untag [them]...and kindly learn not to do it anymore. ... Facebook deserves some credit...[but it] doesn't seem to have really addressed the more fundamental privacy issues. ... Facebook should no longer share...information without its users' express agreement. ... [But it's] time and time again...introduc[ed] new features [that] share additional information...assuming they want the features turned on. ... Facebook should become truly opt-in...on the basis that everything is locked down until a...user opens up each feature. Facebook should not wait until the regulators...start legislating.
