The
Privacy and Facebook
Kai-
Wei Yeh
National
Central University
Abstract
Today, Facebook is part of our life. We
interconnect with Facebook closely. It builds up our entertainment in casual
and even our social network. Every day we share millions information on it with
our friends. However, as we grow more dependent on Facebook, the new issue
emerges: the privacy. Awareness toward privacy comes into bud in recent years.
People begin to worry how will companies such as Facebook utilize users’ mass, private
information. However, until now, most of the comments and news reports
criticize Facebook with one man. This give rise to our question: should
Facebook takes all the full responsibility for the privacy?
Our
paper here aim to discuss the privacy issue in SNS (Social Network Sites). We
use Facebook as our main example. Here, we start from our definations toward
the term, privacy. Then, we want to clarify how exactly privacy functions in
the SNS industry as well as the relation between users and the SNS companies.
Eventually, we want to come up with vision accompanied by suggestion toward
nowadays SNS industry.
Key words: Commerce, Individuality, Privacy, SNS
(Social Network Sites)
Defination: How We Really Look at the Term, “Privacy”?
The
Fact Behind the Criticism
As the co- founder, owner of the most influential, profitable social
website, Facebook, in an interview with TechCrunch during 2010, Zuckerburg had
revealed his thesis that “privacy is no longer a social norm.” His speech
aroused lots of discussion from ordinary Facebook users to professors studying
in mass media.
Many may argue, or even criticize harshly, against Zuckerburg’s
response. They may feel it is quite an offense toward human right when it comes
to privacy issue. However, what I have discovered in it is the future trend of
social web platforms.
Do we really cherish our “privacy”? Do we really want to lock up all the
private information from even our friends? I’m afraid the answer is “ not
really.”
According to Zuckerburg, people have “really gotten comfortable not only
sharing more information and different kinds.” Since the blog open the new era
of internet services, which suggest that we can also demonstrate our own
opinions and feelings without the suppression from mainstream media, social web
platform has developed for more than ten years. In this ten- year evolution,
more and more functions are added, such as picture sharing, outside- webpage
links and so on. All these innovations share one common idea: open. Namely, all
these efforts are to make us easier to upload our information and share it with
friends in cyber world.
The
Real Case in Taiwanese Blog Market
Interestingly enough, although doubt and criticism, people tend to
be elaborate to embrace these changes. Evidence shows how we love to
demonstrate us on the internet: In 2007, take Taiwan as an example, Wretch blog
on Yahoo welcomes its peak with approximately twenty million users. But for
Facebook, which is much more bald and enlightened in information share, reach
one billon in user account during 2013. What’s more, this number is still
rising. It is obvious that getting our information, no matter it is pictures,
personal profile or our posts, open and even wide- spread are the future trend
in social web platform. As Zuckerburg had pointed, our norm in privacy and social
interaction really becomes different overtime. To put even more aggresively, we
somehow eager to peep and be peeped when it comes to the privacy issue.
Individuality: What Satisfaction do we get from Privacy
Psycological
Satisfaction:
According to a great psychiatrist, Sigmund Freud, it is our nature to peep on others’ life. If we look
back on our daily life, we can soon find examples in one man: It is never an
offensive way to show our care and intimacy in regards with friends such as inquiring
them” What do you have for your lunch?” ” Do you sleep tight last night?” “We
all love to know how other mankind makes their living and interact with friends
or lovers. This nature is aroused from our childhood, based on our deepest
doubt about where we come from” stated firmly in Freud’s Psychoanalysis. Hence, it is much reasonable for us to understand why
people took the novel, Dream of the Red
Chamber, as the jewel in Chinese literature. For readers, especially in the
past, this novel provides a precious way to bypass the fence built by the gap
between poor and rich, allowing readers to appreciate the life in wealthy
family and the forbidden romance between young couples. It is obvious that even
back to the early age, far before the mature era of mass media, we still have
managed to utilize every possible means, such as novels and our daily conversation,
to satisfy our natural desire to peek at others’ private life.
Real
Case of Our Desperation to Pry:
More recently, the newspaper has served the function
for our inborn eager to pry. In the very beginning, newspaper appears merely as
a bulletin to share information. There is only several monotony news and
comments on the paper. Reading a newspaper back then definitely has nothing to
do with thrill and excitement. However, later in mid- nineteen century, smart
businessmen started to seek out for a new and promising track to success by
taking advantage of our nature. Since then, newspaper comes out from another
way. Besides daily news, it also takes scandals of politicians, extramarital
affairs of a distinguished actress, or even gossips in neighborhoods into its
context. Eventually, this strategy turns out to be a great success. The selling
record mushrooms from 432 pieces a day in 1808 to 1582 in 1833. (夢葳, 新浪傳媒. (2012). 解析1690- 2011 美國報業發展史) These gossips and thrillers really play an indispensable
role in it.
The Satisfaction in Real Social Interaction
Even more recently, many new technologies join our
daily life, our tangle relation with peeping others remain, but the way to peep
changes. Since blog and other social platforms, such as Facebook, are invented
in late twenty century, it has opened a brand new era- It is the era for
individualism. Instead of receiving information through mainstream media
passively, on social networks we can now demonstrate ourselves in public and we
enjoy it. By sharing details in our daily life, we act as the movie star in
front of the spot light. In that way, we can thus gain responses and interact
with our “audience.” It greatly comforts our anxiety to retrieve fame. On the
other hand, by reading friends’ latest information, we not only instantly feel
the strong intimacy connection in a relationship, but we also get our natural
desire satisfied. In fact, in Freud’s Psychoanalysis, he also mentions that we
all desperate to acquire peers’ trust, approval and accompany. Today, we can
achieve this goal simply by sharing our private life with friends on these
social platforms. For us, we not only receive others’ private information, but,
we are much more willing to give out ours. Privacy is not a fragile antique
which needs to be treated with carefulness, but a tool which can be utilized
freely to broaden our social space and make us spiritual contented.
How
Indiviuality Influence Facebook?
Generally speaking, from evidences above, we can come
up with our conclusion: It is inevitable that human love to know more about
others’ life, but the way to accomplish varies by the medium we use. Our notion
toward privacy also evolves simultaneously. In late nineteen century, it may be
unacceptable for a reporter to unveils the complicated relationship an actress
holds in his report. But today, we are deliberately to spread our image or
video on the web. In the future, the way we treat private information has its tendency
to be more aggressive and less restricted. For will we face the world with less
obstacle in private information share? It is already not the question for yes-
or- no, but for when and how.
CommerceLThe
Commercial Value of Privacy in SNS Industry
How
Facebook runs its Business?
How can we get to the clear appearance of the Facebook? The answer
come as economists always suggest: follow the money trim: Without a doubt,
Facebook is the most influential, unbeatable and affluent player in the SNS
(Social Network Sites) world now. But what really makes Facebook stands out
upon other competitors? The answer comes from the users’ trust toward Facebook?
For how Facebook gain users’ trust? The most two enchanting parts of the
Facebook, charege- free and no overt advertisement, are the answer: Almost all
the functions on Facebook, including media uploading, accessories. Moreover,
and also the most innovate part, once you log in your own page, you are free of
the annoying propaganda, which is quite a bold design in cyber world. With no
advertisements popping out for “surprise”, users tend to feel much more
comfortable and confident in their own cybernetic space. For many commentators,
they regard these two rules as the genesis by Zuckerberg.
How Facebook Gain Profits?
After all, however, Facebook is not the charity. It is also a member
in the competitive market. Under the rule of market, namely, we can’t enjoy
harvest in vain. We have to pay something in return, which is the opportunity
cost. Behind the user- oriented interface, in fact, Facebook tries their best
to collect our personal data, then selling them to advertise company. Perhaps
there is no other platform can collect such detailed, coherent and massive
information of multitude as Facebook. From our daily status, personal profiles
and friends in Facebook and even manner of usage, Facebook can collect our
preferences, social networks, characteristics and even more aggressive, where
or when we get online. Such new method has it superiority than traditional way
such as questionnaire conducted by telephone. By collecting in this relatively
indirect, tender approach, responders (the users) are more delightfully to
unveil their true tastes, personalities and needs. As a consequence, the effort
is much more reliable and accurate, which is of crucial for marketing. It saves
plenty of time and spending for company to introduce the adequate product for
the market. Meanwhile, although it all takes place all behind the screen, such
strategy brings countless profit for Facebook. Eventually, the consequence is
profitable for all Facebook users, Facebook as well as sponsors.
Why the Privacy Problem
Abrupts?
But how does such a “perfect” mode fall into the severe debate for the
privacy leak and even in charge of impairing human rights? In fact, the problem
lies not in the subject matter but in Facebook’s manner to use it. In the paper
Analyzing Facebook Privacy Setting: User Expectation V.S. Reality, the
authors argue that most of our settings betray our wills. According to the
research, there is only 37% privacy setting matching our expectation. Even
after modifying the setting for the awareness of potential privacy problem, the
rate merely rises to 39% ( Yabing Liu. Krishna P. Gummadi. Balachander
Krishnamurthy, Allen Misslove. Analyzing
Facebook Privacy Setting: User
Expectation V.S. Reality. Page1, Abstract.) The huge gap gives rise to our
agitation since people tend to fear for what is uncontrollable and unsighted.
Moreover, the definition of privacy is not concrete. It varies from person to
person, from incident to incident. Everyone all has his taboo accompanied with
the information he wants to share. This specialty will also enhance the users’
anxiety due to the gap. So far, however, based on Facebook principle and
policy, all the collected data is anonymous and collective. There won’t be
data- collected action exclusively for any particular user. In the long run, we
can realize what we really are nervous for is not data- collected action
itself, but the coarse, rude way Facebook conducts it.
Chart 3.1. The Yellow part represent the inappropriate setting as
61%. While the grey for the appropriate seeting, as merely 39%.
The Vision for SNS
The
Possible Future Development:
There are two absolute destination for the
SNS future: less barrier in information share and more accessible to our SNS
platforms with lower cost. However, they all relates to our privacy notion. Our
privacy notion plays a crucial part in the SNS development. It is hybrid. Namely,
it provides both incentive for further developing and the power which also
support the developing actions. Privacy interconnects with the two visions,
less barrier and accessibility, tightly. In the future, how we modify our
privacy notion determines the further SNS development.
Diagram 4.1. The
structure for Facebook future development.
The Incentive:
For Incentive aspect, on the left hand, as we exchange our
information with less obstacles, there are more room for business. The success
in marketing strategies and advertisement industries have already proved that personal
information, ranging from personal profiles, social networks to all kinds of
media, is the goldmine for the cyber generation. In the near future, companies
will encourage their users to share more information on the SNS platforms.
Meanwhile, barriers, such as the misconception resulted from the limitation of
typed words and stiff pictures, during information share will become one
annoying cost which needs to be annihilated. Consequently, more services and
devices will be soon available with an eye to eliminate such cost during the
share. Or even to put it more aggressive, the SNS service may no longer
functions in only one genre. Future SNS may also contend substantial contact,
such as touch and smell. Less barrier in information share not only satisfy the
customers’ aspiration in their subtext (to “pry” and be “pried” by friends).
The privacy represents a prominent and profitable vision for businessmen.
The
Support:
Moreover in
support aspect, on the right hand, with more profit generated through the less
barrier, the cost we take during surfing on SNS platforms drops. Today, we
usually access our SNS identities through cellphones, pads and personal
computer. We also have to pay for our internet use. These expenditures more or
less limit our usage on SNS. However, profit earned from SNS may help to
overcome this plight. In the future, we can foresee that we will access our SNS
identities with less expenditure. There will be a great deal of money inserted
to relevant technology to SNS. As the cost, or the marginal opportunity cost in economics, we pay for SNS declines,
our willingness to “purchase” SNS soars. By affording customers cheaper means
to access, companies can encourage users to share more information on their SNS
sites. Companies can thus make higher profit. It is a profitable investment for
companies. In fact, some enterprisers have predicted such future. The founder
of XiaoMi (小米), one of the most promising cellphone
maker in China, once said that cellphone itself is no longer the arena to
fight. “The real battlefield lies in the services and software behind the
hardware.” ( Cti TV. (2013). 10/20文茜的世界周報. Retrieved
from http://www. Youtube.com/watch?v= Y3X Xhal50) The
same idea can be adapted to SNS world. 3C products are not the protagonists but
the useful tools to increase the accessibility and to explore more possibility
in business.
The Flaws Which need to be overcomed:
To accomplish these two goals, SNS will also care more about users’
need. Each users has its own defination toward privacy. SNS companies will try
to cater users’ need for setting. Namely, users in the future can manage their
sites more effectively. After all, SNS grows on the trust of their customers.
They can’t afford the price of the accusation: the betrayer.
Conclusion
Privacy, with a
doubt, will be the crcial part in Facebook as well as other SNS companies. Just
as the petrol to machines, privacy will inevitiblily serve as the indespensible
part for cybernectic generation.
For
individuality, the share of privacy on Facebook does satify our innate,
subtexial desires. We can derive care, connection and prestige from private
information share. However, we all have diverged value toward our privacy,
which is also the part this paper doesn’t fully cover.
For SNS
company such as Facebook, privacy is the goldmine for cybernectic generation. They
can sell our privacy data collected throgh SNS sites to the marketing or
advertisement companies. Then, these advertisment or marketing companies can map
up more accuarate and effective market stratgies. It is a profitible and
promising business. Thus, Facebook accompanied with other SNS will definitely
move toward more open side. However, Facebook also should be well aware of
users’ feel. They should devlop more exclusive interfaces and settings for
customers. Otherwise, multitudes’ confussion may give rise to anger, which will
turm out to be a destructive danger for Facebook.
Although we
can’t really witness the future fully we can conclude that SNS platforms such
as Facebook will gradually melt into our culture, social circle and even
individuality. Still, we can foresee SNS will be multifunctional, cybernetic
and, for sure, increasingly influential.
Reference
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Bobbie Johnson.
(2009). How Exactly is Facebook Making Money? The Guardian Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2009/sep/16/facebook-money
3.
John Breslin, Stefan Decker.
(2007). The Future of Social Networks on
the Internet.
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HuffPostTech. (2010). Facebook's
Zuckerberg Says Privacy No Longer A
'Social Norm. HuffPostTech
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Nicole B. Ellison, Cliff Lampe,
Charles Steinfield. (2009). Social
Network Sites and Society: Current Trends and Future Possibilities. ACM.
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Mark Sullivan. (2010). How will
Facebook Make Money? Pcworld Retrieved from http://www.pcworld.com/article/198815/ssss.html
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Yabing Liu,
Balachander Krishnamurthy, Krishna P. Gummadi. Allen Misslove. (2009)Analyzing
Facebook Privacy Setting: User
Expectation V.S. Reality.
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