[IxDA Discuss] Changes to Facebook (Perceived Privacy)

[Nasir Barday]

Oleh wrote:
>
> So what Facebook could have done is to introduce this feature as opt-in
> "Share updates in my activity with..." [select from the list], where the
> "watched" people choose who needs to know about the changes. Thus
> introducing new, the "real" friends category in this social network -
> approaching the complexity of our relationships outside the online world.
> Perhaps making some info more personal (less available to acquaintances)
> than other.
>

Facebook introduced the notion of a "Limited Profile" around the same time
as the news feed. As the name suggests, it lets you show a limited subset of
your info to people who are simply acquaintances. And only the information
people are priviledged to see shows up in their view of your news items.

As I said earlier, what alarmed people was that some of the information they
were broadcasting wasn't in the realm of what they wanted out in the open--
a problem that could have been squashed before it even hit the
prototype/wireframe stage.

Of course, I can say something ideal and romantic like "They should have
done their user research" and write it off as a completely preventable
problem, but I don't know the unique challenges of that development team.
For Facebook's sake, I hope this wake-up call has started some healthy
conversations internally about how better to make users happy. Maybe they'll
adopt a proper UCD process and start hiring bona-fide HCI and UX Design
professionals.

Sorry, ideal-romantic nerve going off again. I gotta get that checked ...

- Nasir