I’ve been tagged several times by the 25 Things post and I refused to participate. No matter how many times I get tagged I just can’t go along with it. Apparently I am not the only one who thought it had gotten out of control, Time magazine wrote an article about the phenomenon. Hopefully this is the last Facebook Edition Weekend Reading I will post for a long time.
According to multiple sources, Facebook is moving ahead with plans to exploit private user data for advertisement targeting. Straight from to the Telegraph:
Facebook is planning to exploit the vast amount of personal information it holds on its 150m members by creating one of the world’s largest market research databases.
Rumors are going around that despite the web site being valued in the billions, cash reserves on running low and they are desperately trying to find ways to increase advertising revenue. It is believed that a deal has already been reached with careerbuilder.com. Don’t worry, there is a little hope:
All the company’s previous attempts to monetise the site have failed after members railed against the site’s invasion of their privacy. Mr Zuckerberg pulled Beacon, a service that notified users of their friends’ purchases on external sites such as Amazon, after members launched a campaign in December 2007.
Read the full story from The Telegraph.
Update: Facebook has started a PR blitz to confront the backlash from users. One source is saying Facebook is telling them they are no longer going forward with plans.