Schneier points out that Facebook is a privacy train wreck waiting to happen; something I have long believed. People need to take heed and be careful about what they reveal to whom. We are only at the very earliest of stages with our automated privacy specification and/or features. Life and personal privacy is going to get a lot worse before it gets better:
Privacy Violations by Facebook Employees:
“I don’t know if this is real, but it seems perfectly reasonable that all of Facebook is stored in a huge database that someone with the proper permissions can access and modify. And it also makes sense that developers and others would need the ability to assume anyone’s identity.
Click through to Schneier’s site for a reference to the original material.
(Via Schneier on Security.)
I remember reading an article a few years ago about our near-future “goldfish bowl” society. I think it is likely we’ll continue moving in that direction because the perceived advantages will outweigh the perceived disadvantages.
I think most of the issues of privacy on Facebook will soon seem quaint.
Jtf
I also think there will be a strong generational component to this. There will be folks who are older and naturally more closed, and some up an comming youth that will be essentially transparent and manage it well. Somewhere in the middle with be some youngsters that will grow up regretting all the silly things they posted to facebook and it may haunt a generation as they age.