I saw many of my friends posting a certain "New Facebook Guidelines" hoax on their walls which reads:
In response to the new Facebook guidelines I hereby declare that my copyright is attached to all of my personal details, illustrations, comics, paintings, professional photos and videos, etc. (as a result of the Berner Convention). For commercial use of the above my written consent is needed at all times!
I thought I should write to them with an honest appeal towards their concern. Here goes:
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Dear Friends,
Let's break the chain. Stop the hoax. There are enough hoaxes already eating up the world internet bandwidth. These kind of posts not only promote phishing and spamming, they also help illegal companies categorize a group of individuals (who share such posts) as vulnerable to certain content and hence, their next marketing targets will be you. They have played the copyright trick on us this time as they know that people in this part of the world (if not directly) are actually emotionally attached to their posts and hold them dear. Our posts are filled with memories, not photos, with poetry, not rhymes, with expressions, not updates and with cares not shares.
Before addressing the issue at hand, let's see some facts:
The birthplace of Facebook has less active Facebook users than in the rest of the world. Huffingtonpost says; "Perhaps, after almost 8 years of commenting, poking, tagging, and de-tagging the novelty has worn off. According to Inside Facebook, six million U.S. users left the social network in May (2011) alone."
India stands third in terms of time spent and activity on Facebook in the world. It is obvious as many are still being introduced to Facebook back here. But we should also note that Facebook has an astounding 74.82% penetration of online Indian population.
In response to the new Facebook guidelines I hereby declare that my copyright is attached to all of my personal details, illustrations, comics, paintings, professional photos and videos, etc. (as a result of the Berner Convention). For commercial use of the above my written consent is needed at all times!
I thought I should write to them with an honest appeal towards their concern. Here goes:
--
Dear Friends,
Let's break the chain. Stop the hoax. There are enough hoaxes already eating up the world internet bandwidth. These kind of posts not only promote phishing and spamming, they also help illegal companies categorize a group of individuals (who share such posts) as vulnerable to certain content and hence, their next marketing targets will be you. They have played the copyright trick on us this time as they know that people in this part of the world (if not directly) are actually emotionally attached to their posts and hold them dear. Our posts are filled with memories, not photos, with poetry, not rhymes, with expressions, not updates and with cares not shares.
Before addressing the issue at hand, let's see some facts:
- Six Million U.S. users leave Facebook in just a month:
The birthplace of Facebook has less active Facebook users than in the rest of the world. Huffingtonpost says; "Perhaps, after almost 8 years of commenting, poking, tagging, and de-tagging the novelty has worn off. According to Inside Facebook, six million U.S. users left the social network in May (2011) alone."
- India stands third:
India stands third in terms of time spent and activity on Facebook in the world. It is obvious as many are still being introduced to Facebook back here. But we should also note that Facebook has an astounding 74.82% penetration of online Indian population.
--
Companies work day and night to gather information about you, be it your name, email id, phone number, your location (GPS) or your friends' and family information. They are more concerned about selling their product to the most responsive customer base using the most effective medium. And it isn't ethically wrong.
Although, all the 'privacy policies' speak about keeping our data anonymous, yet if someone reads them thoroughly and interprets, one doesn't fail to notice that though all the data we share is not flagged by a "name" but it contains information about a particular person 'x' and knows what 'x' likes, shares, who 'x's friends are, who is he/she married to and when, when did he/she graduate, what's his/her email id, phone number, address, where he works, his/ her colleagues' name, his/her religion, what is his/her stand about his/her country, where he/she hangs out and with whom, his/her photos, tags, emotional outlets he/she turns to when low, whom he/ she approaches when happy, how much does 'x' earn and is he/she happy with it, travel plans, honeymoon plans, movies, novels, dresses, foods, songs he/she likes, his/her education/ research/ thesis, as to how his/her business is doing , which country he/she belongs to, and finally, where he/ she is currently available now on this good earth! (Personally, makes me wonder- after one has all this data about the old fellow 'x', do we have to know his/her name? )
These companies monetize on this. They fix up a CPC and a CPM on the particular group, community, tribe or country and gauge what the relevant economy of that country is saying in its subtlety and entirety. This isn't wrong. Not wrong at all. In fact, all this info helps us see more relevant ads, more sensible friends suggestions, more networking, more sharing and hence, in a way, more connectivity. If used in the right way, just as in this MIT research video below shows MIT mapping Twitter feeds to generate twitter growth maps in the US, this data could (it's already!) drive phenomenal technological advancements or better, save someone's life- in the near future.
My point: Just think before you share anything. Because what you share is going public anyways. What you say about yourself, your friend, your country, your religion or faith might not be consciously intended to be 'public' by you. Just opt to share it with those who matter. Unfortunately taking control of your online identity is not as simple as making a little post on your Facebook wall. Face it.
As an example, see how companies/firms/institutions can 'map' a geographical area using what/how/where/when/why 'you' have posted and monetize on it. This is something that we all have known. I'm just contextualizing it.
http://www.socialbakers.com/facebook-statistics/india
--
Conclusively, the world is connected and very efficiently. This is helpful, very much if used wisely. Yet, in the wrong hands, it might be prove to be unsafe. Understanding the technology and the ethics with which the 'internet' operates, helps. The rest is always, just as always, a personal call.
Now, The Hoax:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/26/new-facebook-guidelines-chain-letter-hoax_n_2192673.html
Companies work day and night to gather information about you, be it your name, email id, phone number, your location (GPS) or your friends' and family information. They are more concerned about selling their product to the most responsive customer base using the most effective medium. And it isn't ethically wrong.
Although, all the 'privacy policies' speak about keeping our data anonymous, yet if someone reads them thoroughly and interprets, one doesn't fail to notice that though all the data we share is not flagged by a "name" but it contains information about a particular person 'x' and knows what 'x' likes, shares, who 'x's friends are, who is he/she married to and when, when did he/she graduate, what's his/her email id, phone number, address, where he works, his/ her colleagues' name, his/her religion, what is his/her stand about his/her country, where he/she hangs out and with whom, his/her photos, tags, emotional outlets he/she turns to when low, whom he/ she approaches when happy, how much does 'x' earn and is he/she happy with it, travel plans, honeymoon plans, movies, novels, dresses, foods, songs he/she likes, his/her education/ research/ thesis, as to how his/her business is doing , which country he/she belongs to, and finally, where he/ she is currently available now on this good earth! (Personally, makes me wonder- after one has all this data about the old fellow 'x', do we have to know his/her name? )
These companies monetize on this. They fix up a CPC and a CPM on the particular group, community, tribe or country and gauge what the relevant economy of that country is saying in its subtlety and entirety. This isn't wrong. Not wrong at all. In fact, all this info helps us see more relevant ads, more sensible friends suggestions, more networking, more sharing and hence, in a way, more connectivity. If used in the right way, just as in this MIT research video below shows MIT mapping Twitter feeds to generate twitter growth maps in the US, this data could (it's already!) drive phenomenal technological advancements or better, save someone's life- in the near future.
My point: Just think before you share anything. Because what you share is going public anyways. What you say about yourself, your friend, your country, your religion or faith might not be consciously intended to be 'public' by you. Just opt to share it with those who matter. Unfortunately taking control of your online identity is not as simple as making a little post on your Facebook wall. Face it.
As an example, see how companies/firms/institutions can 'map' a geographical area using what/how/where/when/why 'you' have posted and monetize on it. This is something that we all have known. I'm just contextualizing it.
http://www.socialbakers.com/facebook-statistics/india
--
Conclusively, the world is connected and very efficiently. This is helpful, very much if used wisely. Yet, in the wrong hands, it might be prove to be unsafe. Understanding the technology and the ethics with which the 'internet' operates, helps. The rest is always, just as always, a personal call.
As I said earlier, our posts are filled with memories, not photos, with poetry, not rhymes, with expressions, not updates and with cares not shares. Take care who you share them with.
After all, it matters the most, only to you.Now, The Hoax:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/26/new-facebook-guidelines-chain-letter-hoax_n_2192673.html
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