In class today, we discussed the never ending topic of privacy on the internet. Do we really have any privacy once we log onto sites such as Facebook, MySpace or Gmail? Intrigued, I decided to do some further research. But of course, before I delve into my homework mode, I always check my emails and I found a message from my friend who suggested a band she likes. Being the procrastinator I am, I decided to check it out before I started my work. I listened to a few songs on iTunes and found myself logging into Facebook. Right when I logged on, I noticed an ad that stood out to me. It was an ad for the band I had just looked up. I have never listened, talked or heard of their music before today and I was stunned that this ad happened to appear right after I had been searching for them online. Disturbed, I began my research of Facebook Ads. What I found was pretty disturbing; “We continually strive to build core featured that enhance our users' experience on Facebook, which include Facebook Ads. Facebook Ads was built to transform traditional marketing into messages that are tailored to each individual user based on who they are and how they interact and affiliate with their friends, family, brands, music artists, and businesses they care about.”
I thought to myself, “How can they possibly know who I am and how I interact with my family and friends without going through my messages?” Is this a constitutional way to treat their users or is what Facebook is doing just another sacrifice users have to make when logging on to a social networking site?
Before we discussed this topic in class, I never really found myself thinking a lot about it. But following our discussion, Facebook Ads doesn't really come as a surprise to me. Facebook is a social networking site, so it tries to tailor-fit its ads to appeal to its users. With more directed and personal ads, Facebook is appealing to a wider variety of people. In a sense, yes, users have to make sacrifices when they choose to use social networking sites. If you decide to put your personal information on to Facebook, then in a sense you are already inviting the world to get to know you, even if Facebook itself doesn't sift through your information.
ReplyDelete