Facebook Places – What would Jason Bourne do?

August 20, 2010 - By Justin E. Gehrke

Last night, Facebook unveiled its newest tool for Facebook users. Known as Facebook Places, it’s designed to let people ‘check in’ and share their current location, along with what they’re doing there. For users of previously established services like Gowalla and Foursquare the idea is nothing new. They’ve been reporting and recording their travels for some time now. Users of the social media platform Twitter are more likely to be aware of what location-based check in services are, since they’re accustomed to reporting their own whereabouts or, in some cases, seeing others do it.

For the average Facebook users, though, the idea may be totally new. Basically, users of the iPhone Facebook app, as well as other smartphone users whose devices support Facebook’s mobile interface and geotagging (or geolocation, as it’s also known), will be able to check in at their current location, say what they’re doing, and who they’re with. While it may sound benign enough, Facebook’s past privacy gaffs lead many to wonder if this is just another marketing opportunity for Facebook, at the expense of the unwitting user. Of course, this is definitely the ‘Jason Bourne’ way of looking at it. Is Facebook Places as evil as privacy groups would lead us to believe or is it a useful tool that, if properly configured, can be used to our benefit?

What is Facebook Places supposed to do anyway?

In a perfect, non-commercial world, Facebook Places would be great. One wouldn’t have to worry about the information being used to verify if one’s actual whereabouts were the same as they said they would be. One also wouldn’t have to worry that the information posted would be used by advertisers to target them with specific ads and offers.

Of course, Facebook insists that the only information shared is that which the Facebook user allows to be shared. The truth is that past experience with Facebook has shown that locking down (and keeping locked down) personal and posted information is as easy as plugging the leak in the Titanic. Facebook is a huge ship that just keeps growing. The larger it gets, the harder it is to manage.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg insists that the purpose of Places isn’t to identify a user’s location. Moreover, he maintains that the new tool will allow users to broaden their horizons by discovering places that their friends have shared. Conversely, their friends will also be able to learn about the places at which they check in. Sounds fabulous, right? Well, as usual, the pesky privacy questions continue to pop up.

Where are the settings for Facebook Places located?

It has been reported that by maintaining the setting of ‘Places I check in’ set to ‘Friends Only’ will ensure that only your ‘real’ friends can see where you’ve checked in. Unfortunately, your friends can also check you in, without your explicit permission, unless you navigate Facebook’s account settings and specifically disable the option. Unlike other settings which allow you to customize on a per-user basis who can do what with your information, photographs, etc, it doesn’t exist for the setting to allow others to check you in. That means you can’t allow some and disallow others. At this point, it’s either everyone or no one, and no one may be the better option.

Within the same settings screen, users can also decide whether they want to be shown on the list of ‘People Here Now’ after they check in somewhere. Below are a few screen shots that will make it easier to locate and change the default settings if you so choose.

Could Facebook Places really be as evil as some say?

If Privacy Settings are customized to ensure that users have granular control over each category of their information. Additionally, if properly used by ethical people with pure hearts, Places could be an interesting and fun tool to use. Unfortunately, there are inevitably cases where good things go horribly wrong. We’ve outlined a few scenarios where Facebook Places might not be in your best interest. Imagine if you were to tell one friend you can’t help them move because you have to work, yet they see you check in at a bar with another friend, with the comment, “Enjoying happy hour.”

Obviously, this wouldn’t sit well with your friend in need. There are other less than pleasant scenarios that one could conjure up. The chances of it happening might be improbable, but it is possible. Additionally, not checking yourself into a place and not disallowing the ability of friends to check you in could also come back to haunt you. Overall, if you’re doing things that you don’t want others to know about, you probably shouldn’t be using any type of social media. Thusly, the possibilities mentioned above probably shouldn’t be of too much concern.

Alternative viewpoints on privacy in the digital age.

In the end, privacy is whatever you define it to be. Some people don’t like coworkers to meet their families. For others, telling everyone within earshot about their personal life is a full-fledged hobby.

For people like Robert Scoble, the noted technical evangelist and blogger, sharing information is just a way of life. He regularly tweets (@Scobleizer) his exact whereabouts and has more than once tweeted his cellular telephone number encouraging people in the area he’s visiting to call him for a meet-up. For him, such practices are part of the job he does and persona he maintains.

For other social media users, though, such unrestricted visibility may not be the best idea. There are family members, friends, employers…as well as the occasional enemy…who might discover something that you really didn’t want discovered. For some, each bit of information must be measured before it’s shared, to ensure that the potential doesn’t exist for it to haunt them later.

A few final points.

Ultimately, anyone who joins a social media platform, such as Facebook or Twitter, should reasonably know that they are, to an extent, giving up any real expectation of privacy. Writing anything on a computer that goes beyond the network or wireless card means that it will likely exist somewhere in the cloud for all of eternity.

Additionally, there is no lack of debate regarding the growing concern among netizens about the privacy and protection of their digital information. The risk will never be eradicated. We can only hope to minimize it by ensuring that any platforms or forums we use incorporate adequate privacy controls, which we have examined closely and later revisit to ensure things are as we left them. This will allow for a balance between the benefits of social media and the risk of our personal information being compromised.

Yes, the key is to maintain a balance between our real and virtual lives. And in case you didn’t remember, that’s what Geek Shui Living is all about.

Source:  The Facebook Blog – Who, What, When, and Now…Where