Facebook seems to be exploit diligently at establishing itself as thesite that hoi polloi love to hate . Do n’t get me incorrect , passionate sight are a mark of success — just look at Microsoft , Apple , and Google . Still , the trick is to nurture that passionateness ( and generate revenue ) without receive undue regulative examination or sound backlash .

I have some advice for Facebook — albeit altogether unsolicited . The job is n’t that my personal information and information is partake too freely across the entire cyberspace to total strangers that have no link whatsoever with my social net . Well … it is , but the existent job is that you are the one divvy up it .

memorise from Google ’s mistakes with the launch ofGoogle Buzz . Google roll out Buzz and opened the privacy floodgates without warning . Suddenly , relationship , connection , and message duds were all seeable without the consent of the user .

When dealing with privacy issues and sore information , the ism of “ it ’s beneficial to tap forgiveness than to ask permission ” does not apply . Theconsensus among the privateness commissionersfrom ten unlike countries is that “ Google should consider the secrecy deduction of new launches , or when expanding or changing existing service , ” and the same practice to Facebook .

Zuckerberg was half proper when he announce thatusers no longer care about privacy . Zuckerberg told TechCrunch ’s Michael Arrington “ the great unwashed have really receive comfy not only sharing more information and unlike kinds , but more openly and with more people . That societal norm is just something that ’s germinate over time . ”

That is true . If the TMI ( too much entropy ) office and condition update on Facebook and Twitter have instruct us anything , it ’s that users plain have little sense of boundaries in sharing personal or sensitive information with the anonymous masses . However , they do care about entities like Facebook doing it for them .

drug user also do n’t like surprise — not even undecomposed one . Facebook has a history of springing novel services and redesigned interfaces on users with no warning . There isalways a huge backlash and user uprising , then finally everyone adapts and animation goes on . Why not have a more public genus Beta examination period , or at least announce a calendar week in advance that a change is come up . A little premonition goes a long way to gaining musical accompaniment from the masses .

So , Facebook , go ahead and put the theoretical account in place — but make it opt in . Let user shoot themselves in the metrical unit rather than sustain Facebook stabbing them in the back .

desire me , it ’s a recipe for succeeder for Facebook because here is how it will diddle out : Facebook introduces unexampled feature or service that share information with third - parties around the man , and provides ample warning and sufficient details regarding the usance and privacy of the datum , but puts the choice in the user ’s hands to enable it . Users do n’t read any of the information furnish by Facebook and do n’t give privacy a 2nd though , and start the service .

With this business sector model , Facebook gets the same nett result — half a billion users freely sharing personal and sensitive information with the entire world via Facebook and its third - party partners — but without the legal or regulative scrutiny . Instead of being the villain , Facebook is the hero for providing groundbreaking features while also respecting the privateness of its users .

Give it a try . badly . You do n’t need to share datum for us , because users — for the most part — don’t really care about secrecy any more . Give us the option , and let us be the unsound guy and you just rake in the profit .

[ you’re able to follow Tony on hisFacebook page , or touch him bye - mail ]