Oneupweb : Facebook’s Improved Privacy Education

In life we all learn lessons. Some lessons come easy, while others take a 2×4 across the face to get through (Richard, is there a mark on my face?). This past month it took a proverbial 2×4 across the face of Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg to learn a very valuable lesson—you don’t mess with people’s privacy!

People began to get suspicious about how Facebook was sharing their information with the release of Social Plugins. To most, it seemed that their information was being shared without consent. And it certainly didn’t help that Facebook didn’t keep with its traditional fashion of sending its users a warning of change. Any experienced leader knows that you have to give people time to adjust to change. Mark Zuckerberg is learning this notion the hard way, but the important thing is that he’s learning.

Several changes have been made within Facebook (for the better) because of the major uproar from users. Facebook finally released a quick overview of the privacy settings, which is something that should have been done long ago.

More people are utilizing Facebook—elderly folks as well as not-so-savvy computer users are joining the social network. Facebook can be complicated for some individuals and you can’t expect them to understand its inner workings. On Oneupweb’s review blog I simplified Facebook’s privacy settings in my post: Oneupweb Reviews: Improved Facebook Privacy Controls.

Everyone makes mistakes. And we Facebook users have given Mark Zuckerberg a wide birth, because he’s young and we love Facebook. It’s a relief that although Mark is very intelligent,  he doesn’t think he knows everything at age 26. He admits that he’s made a lot of mistakes and that he is open to feedback. After all, Facebook is a work in progress—not too different than you and me.