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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2.          Cti TV. (2013). 文茜的世界周報 10/20. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Y3X_XhaI50

3.          John Breslin, Stefan Decker. (2007). The Future of Social Networks on the Internet.

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6.          Mark Sullivan. (2010). How will Facebook Make Money? Pcworld Retrieved from http://www.pcworld.com/article/198815/ssss.html

7.          Yabing Liu, Balachander Krishnamurthy, Krishna P. Gummadi. Allen Misslove. (2009)Analyzing Facebook Privacy Setting: User Expectation V.S. Reality.

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