Not so two Face(d)book.
But there’s a dark side. So where to from here? Advertisers
and brands can rest easy. Facebook is full of real people representing
themselves realistically according to a new study from Back et al (2010). Regular
readers will know I love a bit of Psychology or as some might say
“Behavioural Economics” (!), I note this only because in 24 short months
this has gone full circle from Manago, Graham, Greenfield, &
Salimkhan’s (2008) ‘idealized
virtual-identity hypothesis’ (people presenting desired personas) and Valkenburg, Patti, Peter’s (2009) ‘Internet-enhanced
self-disclosure hypothesis’ to this research where people are creating actual online copies
of themselves.
That’s a LOT of information ‘they’ can use against you (even
positively). Yes they can target
more accurately which is a better experience but a five minute visit to
Lamebook shows how much sensitive information in being shared. Don’t get me wrong I am ALL for open
communication, sharing and connecting if done sensibly. The issue here is most people aren’t
sensible and don’t think about what they are doing online – the just want the
information. For example: Have you searched something about a
political party recently? Did you
Google something to do with a disease?
Does this accurately showcase who you are? Should this information be used against you?
Smarter people than I know but one thing is certain. Those who control the information
control the money. Rightly or wrongly
hyper-targeting is here to stay and working at MySpace I know it’s a hideously difficult
and fascinating boat to steer.
With several quite large bumps in its short life it’s clear that people
value their privacy and it’s going to be a interesting ongoing battle to keep
services free and relevant. Facebook has an important job in shaping this new economy.
