What happens when you post information to a public platform? It’s a good idea to take a look at the data policy when posting to Facebook™
We all have secrets, admit it. My momma used to tell me “It’s only a secret until you tell someone else” so why would you tell 2 billion people and expect it to stay just between y’all?
NOTHING IS TRULY PRIVATE ANYMORE
I see so many posts about privacy on social media that I just do NOT understand. I don’t get it. I don’t get why people are under the illusion that anything they put on the internet is secret.
Back in the day, screenwriters and movie producers starting creating movies about the net. Identity theft, the dark web and how easy it was to get information. Hollywood wasn’t lying, folks. Your information is out there and frankly, the only way to keep it safe was to stay off the internet. That isn’t even enough now with bills, medical records and memberships. Yes, even the AAA has your info stored somewhere on the cloud today. Everything is kept on a server somewhere.
Long gone are the days of hand written notes in your file or a room full of filing cabinets with that familiar clank. They’re gone. Data is now stored on a server somewhere so that it’s easily accessible. When you call a business or even go into a doctor’s office and they type your name into their system, that info is grabbed from the ether. Databases hold all information from your credit cards to your shot records. It’s just a fact of life.
DATA MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND
When you’re watching TV, what you watch is determined by research. Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems operated by Nielsen Media Research that seek to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States. It’s all market research.
Market research is everywhere. When we buy products, the companies keep metrics to determine sales, popularity and value. If a product doesn’t sell, it’s taken off of the market to avoid loss of revenue.
You’re surrounded by data mining every day, yet most people only focus on social media platforms, Facebook™ especially, and their lack of “privacy” …it’s just mind blowing.
AN OLDIE BUT A GOLDIE
I do not give Facebook or any entities associated with Facebook permission to use my pictures, information, messages or posts, both past and future. By this statement, I give notice to Facebook it is strictly forbidden to disclose, copy, distribute, or take any other action against me based on this profile and/or its contents. The content of this profile is private and confidential information. The violation of privacy can be punished by law (UCC 1-308- 1 1 308-103 and the Rome Statute).
This post literally went VIRAL, as most do when anyone “stands up” for an injustice. Facebook™ IS reading your messages. Facebook™ is scanning your activity for public safety keywords and Facebook™ already told you it was going to do it. This post was of course a hoax, but so many people believed that they had the “right” to their own content, and they do, but when you post, you give Facebook™ permission to use it:
Social media is not a place for privacy – that’s why it’s called SOCIAL. It’s a place to share. SHARE. Don’t be fooled into thinking that anything you post is private, because it’s not.
IT’S FREE AND A PLACE TO CONNECT
Social media lists benefits that speak of sharing content, connecting with friends, keeping up with trends. A social hub of activity where people can communicate and share. Everyone wants to GO VIRAL, but have privacy. How can you have both?
It’s not your own server where you can control access – you’re posts are PUBLIC unless you choose to make them visible to your friends. It’s not yours. Once you share your pics and intimate thoughts, they are released into the cloud and privacy is not guaranteed. At all.
IF YOU TELL 2 BILLION PEOPLE A SECRET, IS IT STILL A SECRET?
That’s how many people are on Facebook™. People looking to connect and share. If you are looking for privacy, stay off the internet. Your information is already out there with credit card data breaches, public records, every time you give a business your email (which is being asked for at every checkout) you’ve given up your privacy.
You want to keep trolls off of Facebook™ yet complain if they “read your messages” or do anything to protect you, misunderstanding what the algorithm can and cannot do.
You don’t want messages that try to steal your identity, but you don’t want Facebook™ to monitor because it violates your beliefs where privacy is concerned. You don’t want to give anyone access, yet you accept EVERY SINGLE FRIEND REQUEST without even knowing who these people are.
You want to post your intimate thoughts in a group marked “private” but leave your privacy in the hands of 8,000 people in that group.
You don’t want to be targeted by ads, yet you tell the algorithm what you are interested in.
You don’t want people sharing your information, yet you post it on a social website or app.
You don’t want to be categorized but you participate in the type of engagement that labels you.
You can’t have both. You can’t share secrets on a public app and expect the makers of that app to protect you, then complain that they’ve done something with your data that you agreed to.
Take the time to go and read and terms and conditions. Know what you’re doing out there online, because it’s a jungle. Protect your privacy and disconnect apps that you’ve give your Facebook™ data to (every time you sign into a website using Facebook™, you’ve given your data to that website). Don’t go into a group with 10 million people and think that just because it’s marked private that everyone there will protect or honor your privacy. Facebook™ cannot stop someone from taking a screen shot of your post and plastering it all over the internet. People can take any info you put out there and do just about anything they want with it.
Be careful out there
You’ve shared your relationship status, pics of your kids, information about your family and specifics that may put you in harm’s way out there. Lifetime movies should teach you everything you need to know about how far some people will go, but please keep yourself safe.
Servers never forget. Take some time to read the Facebook™ data policy, because they really do try to keep your information safe, but are you guilty of over-sharing?
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