

The new Facebook API exposes the events you attend to anyone on the Internet - edd
http://zestyping.livejournal.com/256801.html

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sjsivak
I think this is just a symptom of a greater issue. Many of us assume that when
we post something on the internet (facebook) it should be private. The reality
is that you are handing your information over to another entity, and you are
doing so willingly. That entity has vast resources and the ability to change
the terms of service and rules at will.

If you just have the mindset that anything you share on facebook will be
posted on a billboard in Times Square, you can know for sure that you are
getting the privacy you want.

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yellowbkpk
> The reality is that you are handing your information over to another entity,
> and you are doing so willingly.

The perception is that when you gave that information over to the entity it
will stick with the privacy rules you had setup at the time. In this case,
Facebook's new systems are ignoring those privacy settings and making things
public that were previously set to be private. At the very least, they are
adding new features that give new views into your data that make your existing
data public.

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milkshakes
_But there's a big difference between publishing an event page with a list of
people attending, and publishing a list of events that you attended._

Not really...

In other news, that tool he made (<http://zesty.ca/facebook/>) is pretty neat.

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pasbesoin
Thank you. This allowed me to identify and remove an event that, while nice
and quite innocent, was described in... "new age-y" language that might well
put some contacts off.

I hesitated to rely on "security through obscurity" when using FB events as
well as the old "fan pages", but social pressure caused me to give in on a few
occasions.

Guess if and as I remain on FB, I'll avoid anything that has a public aspect
to it.

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davisml
isn't the point of "attending" an event on Facebook to let others know anyway?

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davidbr02
Yes, but the others I want to let know are my friends, not some random person
I don't even know

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harshpotatoes
I think the real problem is that Mark Zuckerberg has the opposite belief, and
thinks everything should be shared with everybody.

What I don't get is, why doesn't somebody just build an alternative to
facebook which treats your data as private and not public. Then you could have
the people still on facebook install an app to allow the secure-book people
(or whatever) interact with their data so everybody can be friends across
platforms. And maybe another app for vice-versa usage. bada bing bada boom.

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mortenjorck
That's a great idea, but the Facebook app will always be the weak point,
because everything you share (to specific users) through it will still be open
for Facebook to use however it sees fit.

Ultimately, I'd say this is the problem of social flatland:
[http://interuserface.net/2010/02/buzz-facebook-and-social-
fl...](http://interuserface.net/2010/02/buzz-facebook-and-social-flatland/)

Disclaimer: That's my blog.

~~~
harshpotatoes
I like the non-flat approach to social networking. Most of my facebook friends
are there because we went to high school together. It would be nice to be able
to group them apart from my 10 or so current friends, so I could not snub my
acquaintances but keep in touch with those who sould be kept in touch with.

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dotcoma
oh, come on... why be shy? ;-))

