Facebook Fans Freak Out

Every time Facebook makes any sort of changes users everywhere have a tendency to freak out first and ask questions later. The recent format change proved no different. People purported their detest for the new design like it’s their job. Privacy scares and rumors of charges have run rampant in people’s posts.

Who hasn’t seen the following warning plastered all over Facebook Friend’s walls:

FACEBOOK JUST RELEASED THEIR PRICE GRID FOR MEMBERSHIP. $9.99 PER MONTH FOR GOLD MEMBER SERVICES, $6.99 PER MONTH FOR SILVER MEMBER SERVICES, $3.99 PER MONTH FOR BRONZE MEMBER SERVICES, FREE IF YOU COPY AND PASTE THIS MESSAGE BEFORE MIDNIGHT TONIGHT. WHEN YOU SIGN ON TOMORROW MORNING YOU WILL BE PROMPTED FOR PAYMENT INFO...IT IS OFFICIAL IT WAS EVEN ON THE NEWS. FACEBOOK WILL START CHARGING DUE TO THE NEW PROFILE CHANGES. IF YOU COPY THIS ON YOUR WALL YOUR ICON WILL TURN BLUE AND FACEBOOK WILL BE FREE FOR YOU. PLEASE PASS THIS MESSAGE ON IF NOT YOUR ACCOUNT WILL BE DELETED IF YOU DO NOT PAY....

As if adding numbers and using all caps makes it true. Savvy users know to check the facts before going gossip gaga in their social media feeds. Not to mention common sense says if Facebook is going to charge they will message users directly instead of circulating it through wall posts.

The privacy problems seem a little murkier to manage finding what is fact or fiction. The bottom line of who sees your content comes down to how vigilant you are in maintaining your privacy settings. Facebook lets you control who sees it and who doesn’t. The recent changes have allowed an easier way to do that on the fly. The subscribe function helps limit the amount of info you are fed in the right hand stream so you’re not overloaded with useless information. It’s not the super security risk some people are making it out to be. From what I’ve heard the changes that are about to roll out are even better and offer a more blog like timeline that will make navigating our social timeline easier than before.

The part where things get really rocky is the recent revelation that Facebook has been tracking web activity of users even when they are logged out. While Facebook acknowledges it uses cookies for the like button feature it is not information that is logged unless the user opts-in by pressing “Like.”

It’s always good to stay abreast of privacy and security features on any information you are sharing online. However, reposting spam without checking your facts doesn’t reflect very well on your status.


By Heather Fairchild - Heather is a multimedia developer with experience in web, film, photography and animation as well as traditional fine arts like painting and sculpting. In addition to writing for TechCareersBlog.com, she is co-founder of design and promotion company. Heather’s spare time consists of making puppets, teaching Sunday School, building Legos and doing science experiments with her children.