If you're on Facebook daily, you notice things. And lately, a few things have popped up without any fanfare from the silent giant:
First, now I can ask questions and poll my friendsas an option on status updates. But it's a flawed addition, since the "Add an option" field in the poll choices doesn't let you edit the number of choices you can give your friends. And when I started typing in choices, it would try to auto-fill with existing pages. It was very frustrating because, as you might have noticed, I like polls. And no one really seems to have noticed the one question I put out there ("iPad 2: Wi-Fi only, or go for 3G?"). Are others getting any traction on that feature?
Second, that "Memorable status updates" from my friends are showing up on the right-hand bar. To be fair, some are memorable. But some are, meh. What algorithm decides that? It was showing up last night, but on checking around Facebook today, no sign of it. Did they pull it off?
If Facebook did remove this brief experiment, perhaps it was because of pages like "FB, Lose 'Memorable Status Updates' - or Give us Control" (thanks All Facebook, for pointing us there). People weren't shy about voicing their disapproval of these blasts from the past. One member of the group I contacted via Facebook email, Carroll Leeds, responded by writing me why she objects to it:
The reason this bothers me is that I have had to see posts that my friends and fiancee wrote as their statuses after my mother died and for some odd reason these posts seem to be the most prevalent, as well as posts about pets that passed around the same time etc. Other people in our group have had the same issues with R.I.P. posts popping up as well as posts that were written to ex lovers that they are now forced to read, even though they are no longer with that person and have moved on. These posts have become mentally distressing as they are memories that are either best left in the past or things you may not want to think about at the moment, particularly if you are having a fairly good day. FB is supposed to be fun and a way to connect, but last week I found myself crying in front of the computer reading the posts about my mother.
One commenter on the page nailed why this gets under Facebook users' skin:
This is a relatively minor issue compared to what it actually represents. Basically, what this means is that facebook does keep a record or every single thing you put into it, and that they can chose to make this information public, at any time, without consulting you. Be Wary.
What might be next, memorable photos? One's that a lot of people commented on? That unfortunate incident on spring break where you decided to post your appearance on girls gone wild before you got sober? But you're trying to get an internship this year, and it's not going to look good.
Or how about memorable notes? Maybe 2 years ago, as a 19 year old idealist, you ranted and raved that 9/11 was a conspiracy, and that the reptillians were surely behind it. But by this year you have a child, and really need to get that job you just applied for, helping out with a local candidates campaign...
So there's the real rub: that it shows again, the lack of control we have over the content we continually feed into Facebook.
See the Terms of Service:
For content that is covered by intellectual property rights, like photos and videos ("IP content"), you specifically give us the following permission, subject to your privacy and application settings: you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any IP content that you post on or in connection with Facebook ("IP License"). This IP License ends when you delete your IP content or your account unless your content has been shared with others, and they have not deleted it. When you delete IP content, it is deleted in a manner similar to emptying the recycle bin on a computer. However, you understand that removed content may persist in backup copies for a reasonable period of time (but will not be available to others).
I've reached out to Facebook about this and will let you know what they say.
I've also noticed that I'm now getting recommendations from my friends' links. It's the latest in a continuum of personalized links that Facebook throws at us on a daily basis. It's still a little annoying for me to see "Friends' Photo Albums" pop up repeatedly, though I admit not minding it so much when it shows the pics of the friend whose profile I'm visiting. But we're also getting recommendations for what our friends like. It seems never ending. Sometimes I just want to browse, without any guidance. Don't you?
What Facebook additions are you noticing lately? Like or dislike?
More stories:
- Should employees have access to the Web at work?
- New tool helps clean up your Facebook reputation
- Regrets turning profile page into fanpage? Appeal to Facebook
Check out Technolog on Facebook, and on Twitter, follow Athima Chansanchai, who thinks a lot of things are memorable, but would like to choose what those things are, rather than letting someone or something else decide for her.