Opinion

Facebook gets an unpopular facelift

Students in an uproar over Web site's new structure

Posted on Sept. 14, 2006, at 12:00 a.m.

Today, the World Wide Web not only presents data from around the globe, but also networks students from universities and high schools. Facebook, created by Mark Zuckerberg, makes new friends, reunites old buddies and keeps students in touch with classmates who were foolish enough to go anywhere except chilly UMaine. Yes, the happy family of Facebook users has created their own online utopia of holding hands, inside jokes and sexual innuendos.

But this past week, trouble hacked its way into paradise with Zuckerberg’s launch of “News Feed” and “Mini-Feed.” News Feed displays your friends’ actions that occurred in or around your network. Mini-Feed displays a user’s recent activities on their profile. Zuckerberg meant to make Facebook more convenient, collecting any news and delivering it all to one place. Contrary to his intentions, facebook users were outraged.

When News Feed and Mini-Feed were added, proper privacy controls weren’t installed with them. Users had no control as to what activities would be broadcasted to all. The issue became people’s discomfort with having their profiles announced, creating a creepy Big Brother feeling. Suddenly protest groups formed and the masses joined groups such as “against the new stalker Facebook design” and “all who HATE the new Facebook setup.” There’s even a “Boycott NEW FACEBOOK” group, but if someone could explain how joining a group to boycott the organization it’s a part of is logical, fill me in, please.

As a matter of fact, who are these people to complain? Firstly, Facebook is a free service and it is not obligated to cater to your needs. Secondly, your needs have no basis if you willingly put your personal information out there in the first place. If you have granted people information like this, why is there a problem in the timeliness that they receive it? If they are your confirmed friend, chances are they are going to come across your profile and see the changes you have made. News Feed just brings them there sooner. And why would you change your profile if you did not want people to see the changes? I am not against Facebook and I am not preaching to you to join or leave it. I am saying that you do not have muc of a soapbox to stand on.

But alas, Zuckerberg heeded your complaints. He posted an open letter on everyone’s account, dishing out apologies to one and all. Privacy controls were corrected, and rallyers were commended for their gumption. Zuckerberg explained that his goal was “to help people understand what was going on in their world a little better . to create an environment where people could share whatever information they wanted, but also have control over whom they shared that information with.” He has managed to pacify the masses and achieve his goal of friendly Internet networking. Recently, Zuckerberg initiated a group called Free Flow of Information on the Internet, and considers it to be what guides the makers of Facebook. Its general idea is the allowance of publishing information so that people can harmlessly check out somebody’s background or look up a long lost classmate.

Facebook is sure to take on new additions and renovations in order to keep up with the rest of the world. Zuckerberg can only hope that people are a little more open minded and that next time tiny details such as privacy aren’t left out.

Mindy Hart is a first-year journalism major.

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 14th, 2006, 12:00 am. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.