Facebook

[Z...]

The facebook seems to be next biggest thing after Google, these days you are nobody if you are not on the face book.
Even the US presidential candidates are aware of this. But as people flocked to open the account on the face book many serious privacy issues started popping up.


here is what one blogger wrote(_http_//blogs.zdnet.com/social/?p=392):

Whether you call it a bug or a feature (or a neo-con conspiracy), there’s no doubt that closing and deleting a Facebook account could be made a lot easier. While it’s simple enough to de-activate your account on the social networking site, doing so won’t remove your data. Instead, all of your personal information (photos, blog posts, friend networks etc) remain stored on Facebook’s servers by design, in the vain hope that exiting members will one day return.

And there are bit more details on this blog http__stevenmansour.com/writings/2007/jul/23/2342/2504_steps_to_closing_your_facebook_account

Is the face book just an extended arm of big brother? In any case here's the story about the kid responsible for the whole mess:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UNrqz6X-AE

 

[Ryan]

My impression of Facebook was that the success of MySpace caused an interest in a more "involved" type of social networking website, one with the capabilities to maximize data-mining and profiling abilities.

A Brief History of Facebook

Business & Funding

Given the situation other social networks on the web are facing, Facebook is in a good position financially. While it hasn’t managed to get acquired like its rival MySpace (despite some rumors about an $800m deal with Viacom), it’s been quite lucky in most aspects. For its initial funding, it received $500,000 from Peter Theil, co-founder of PayPal. A few months later, it was also able to get $13 million from Accel Partners, who are also investors in 15 other Web 2.0 startups, and $25 million from Greylock Partners, making their overall venture equal to approximately $40 million.

For users, Facebook’s core service is completely free and ad-supported. In fact, in August 2006 Facebook signed a three year deal with Microsoft to provide and sell ads on their site in return for a revenue split. The deal followed an announcement from Facebook’s direct competitor MySpace who signed a similar deal with Google. The youthful demographic that both the services attract is highly prized amongst advertisers and should return a good amount of revenue for both the services to stay alive - and profit. Another deal which made news in July was Facebook’s agreement with Apple to give away 10 million free iTunes samplers to Facebook users. A deal has also been signed to provide Facebook credit cards.

Lawsuits & Concerns

In its early days, Facebook faced an extremely threatening lawsuit from ConnectU, a very similar social network which - like Facebook - shares its roots back to Harvard, and as a result almost got shutdown. The founders of ConnectU alleged that Facebook’s founder Mark Zuckerberg stole source code while he was in their employment. Zuckerberg denied the allegation and the lawsuit was dismissed.

Facebook has also been host to other issues and concerns, especially in the privacy sector where its privacy policy states “Facebook also collects information about you from other sources, such as newspapers and instant messaging services. This information is gathered regardless of your use of the Web Site.” Another theory is that Facebook could also be a data-gathering project or if not, used extensively for these purposes. Facebook’s policy also states that it “may share your information with third parties, including responsible companies with which we have a relationship.”

 

[Hildegarda]

A Russian Facebook clone, "odnoklassniki.ru", is widely held as an FSB (Russian FBI) data-mining database; it is also worth noting that the FSB employees are officially prohibited from opening an account there.

 

[Z...]

ha ha I don't know why but when you say Russian FBI it sounds funny, somehow I instantly imagined Fox Molder and Dana Scully speaking in Russian.

Well the thing is, nothing that is on the internet or your PC for that matter is safe, somewhere - god knows where, everything is being saved.
I am really not bothered with that anymore- the way I see it - so far they (whoever is they) kept quiet and as long as it is like that it is fine - I am mostly concerned with privacy then anything els as I don't have that many dark secrets to hide ;)

But this is it and they are counting on it- human beings gradually get used to everything
These days I don't have any objections implanting dogs with microchips, it is the norm, and it is practical so maybe one day I wont blink when they propose the same for human beings.
I do sincerely hope it will not be like that.

 

[Hildegarda]

ha ha I don't know why but when you say Russian FBI it sounds funny

it's really the good old KGB with a face lift and a nose job :)

 

[go2]

Following up on Ryan's post on the principals behind Facebook, there is an investigative report titled "Facebook: A Tombstone With A Picture Attached" by Nick Walsh. Darpa and the CIA were involved in the design and financing of this mind control project. The above referenced essay is in a collection published by LaRouche Pac entitled "Is The Devil in Your Laptop." The history of psyops against humanity on behalf of a predatory elite is reported in depth. Here is a link to the
essays.
_http://www.larouchepac.com/files/pdfs/071127-lpac_myspace.pdf

 

[Username]

Concerning facebook I've always been very reluctant to be part of it, mainly because of privacy concerns and because of an article I read some time ago in a mainstream newspaper that said that the C.I.A was somehow (I don't remember exactly how) involved (I'll check that article for posting it's content later). But today I had decided that it would be a good idea to just get one account so I could see some good photos of my loved ones that are living abroad. That was my thought until I had to write the words that you have to write as a security check when you are opening an account. The words were: filament C.I.A.. Well, you all can imagine what I felt in that moment!! I thought in what Laura write about etheric filaments that unite individuals with hiperdimensional beings. So, the obvious question is: was it just a coincidence or a message from the Universe? Anyway, then I had this thought: well, maybe this is a way of getting what they are seeking for, people's free willing demand to be enslaved. How? Well, I'm not really sure about it but maybe it could be this way: you create these networks were people give all the data about them and by your own newspapers you tell them that your agents (CIA) are somehow gathering this data, so people can choose no to be part of it. But, if you choose the otherway you are giving them the right to get all this data and doing with it whatever they want, because your choice is saying: well, I don't care what you do with that data, you can do whatever you want, you could be enslaving me, but I don't care...
Well, probably I am off track here but that was the tought that came to me... Anyway, I decided to close my account. Am I overreacting?

 

[Kel]

That is creeepy! I, too, would close my account, though at that point, was it too late?

I've had several people ask me to set up an account on facebook, and I just can't bring myself to do it. I mean, if someone is worth contacting or staying in contact with, I would say I should be giving them a call or going to visit them. Seems like pretty much a waste of time.

 

[Username]

Yes, it's too late. As it says in the first post of this thread, deactivating your account won’t remove your data...although in my case there is not much.

 

[mkrnhr]

Before closing one's account, maybe it is not superfluous to first remove all personal files (photos, videos), to change personal information and wait to see what happen. I personally prefer having my facebook account and try to control the information as I could, because there is always somebody tagging you in a photo and you cannot always prevent it.
A real danger is that someone uses your identity and opens an account with which could cause problems with your contacts and maybe endanger you.
IMHO, it's better to have an open eye on what happens rather then close everything and leave it to someone else, who knows?

 

[spyraal]

For those who still choose to use Facebook for some reason, it is really worth taking some time and adjusting the privacy settings as
the standard settings are close to total profile transparency! Of course that will not provide protection against certain state agencies
beginning with the letter "C" and their kind, but it will limit the exposure of someone's profile to the average web stalker in the case that
having a Facebook profile is needed for a certain reason.

I guess if someone is aware of the nature of the beast behind internet based "social networks", then he can make a better choice
when deciding the level of his interaction with them according to the circumstances. Knowledge protects, but only when it is applied! :)

 

[RyanX]

For those who still choose to use Facebook for some reason, it is really worth taking some time and adjusting the privacy settings as
the standard settings are close to total profile transparency! Of course that will not provide protection against certain state agencies
beginning with the letter "C" and their kind, but it will limit the exposure of someone's profile to the average web stalker in the case that
having a Facebook profile is needed for a certain reason.

This is good advise. It appears that one can now organize facebook "friends" into groups now and then set viewing privileges based on these groups. It isn't entirely obvious how this works and for the novice it might just seem easier to not structure one's account this way. I would strongly advise using this feature, especially for people who tend to accumulate a lot of "friends" - or just people who might know your name. Otherwise one leaves the door wide open.

One reason for organizing people by different groups would be to separate out "co-workers". A lot of companies are starting to use Facebook as another form of internal communication, so one has to really be careful about what is said or shared on there. Imagine that somebody who for the longest time was your co-worker suddenly gets promoted to being your boss. Suddenly, all of the personal information you shared via facebook is fair game when it comes promotions, demotions, pay raises, schedules, project assignments, etc.

Another tip might be to use as few facebook "applications" as possible. These can really rack up a lot of personal information about you in a hurry. I see people on there take quiz after quiz, posting "top 5's" and a whole lot of other really personal information. A lot of it gets to be quite ridiculous as it tends to appeal to people's narcissistic tenancies. At the very least this information can be sold off to companies looking for marketing data, and at the worse be used against you by certain government or alphabet agencies.

Further reading:

_http://www.rachelheldevans.com/article-1216405146
_http://tech.msn.com/news/articlepcw.aspx?cp-documentid=19904552

Ryan

 

[Username]

Here is the article of which I spoke:
http://www.edicionesespeciales.elmercurio.com/destacadas/detalle/index.asp?idnoticia=0130102008021X1060023&idcuerpo=385

It[facebook]'s fun, entertaining, and totally harmless. That is what most of us think. But after an investigation by the journalist Tom Hodgkinson of the British newspaper The Guardian, you better think twice before disclosing anything about yourself. And as is often said in American movies, "anything you say may be used against you." By whom? None other than the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States (CIA).

Indeed one of the most recent capital increases of Facebook was led by a company called Greylock VentureCapital, which invested the sum of $ 27.5 million. One of the main partners of Greylock is also on the board of In-Q-Tel, a company that is nothing less than the venture capital wing of the CIA.

It sounds weird and even paranoid, but it's been a long time since the intelligence service established this fund which "identifies and partners with companies developing cutting-edge technologies to help deliver these solutions to the Central Intelligence Agency and the Intelligence Community United States to further their missions. "

The U.S. Department of Defense and the CIA love this technology because it facilitates the research and espionage. "We must find new ways to deter new adversaries," said Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in 2003. "We must make the leap into the information age, which is the critical foundation of our transformation efforts." He added.

 

[Nathan]

A good rule of thumb would be: don't share anything on Facebook (or other social networking sites) - and this includes private messages - that you don't want the whole world to know!

 

[mkrnhr]

A good rule of thumb would be: don't share anything on Facebook (or other social networking sites) - and this includes private messages - that you don't want the whole world to know!

Good advice indeed! Another one should be : share only what the whole world already knows ;)