Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Users Dislike Facebook Refresh but Privacy Isn't the Issue

According to a USA Today/Gallup poll conducted last week, two-thirds of Facebook users overall were unaware of the new features recently adopted at the social networking site. However, 87 percent of the respondents using Facebook on a daily basis said they were up to speed with the Web site's latest update.

Consumer advocacy groups have raised concerns about the latest additions to Facebook and how they might be used by criminals. Nevertheless, just 26 percent of the new poll's respondents who said they visit Facebook every day were "very concerned" about their online privacy, USA Today reported in an article published Tuesday.

A majority of Facebook users (56 percent) disapproved of the latest changes while only 36 percent said they liked them. Nevertheless, 30 percent indicated they visited the popular social networking site several times a day, and with 29 percent using Facebook on a daily basis.

"If there's one thing Facebook is not afraid of, it's change," said Forrester Relevant Products/Services Research Senior Analyst Sean Corcoran.

Laying Claim To Users' Lives

For Facebook the goal is to radically change the online social networking game by laying claim to the entire life experience of each and every participant using its Web site, according to Corcoran.

For example, Facebook has been testing a new Timeline feature that "recaps in one fell swoop everything you've ever posted and lets you feature the highlights," Corcoran wrote in a blog. There are also "new apps Relevant Products/Services that let you discover and share real-time experiences like watching movies and listening to music."

The principal benefit for Facebook is that the new features will deliver highly granular data Relevant Products/Services on individual users that Facebook's advertising clients can harness to more precisely target their marketing efforts at the social networking site. With the latest changes, for example, advertisers will be able to launch innovative campaigns more likely to attract the attention of Facebook users.

"Just imagine Ticketmaster sending you a custom offer for Radiohead tickets for you and your friend because you listened to their music together," Corcoran wrote.

Privacy Concerns

Consumer watchdogs and privacy advocates are concerned about the rollout of new Facebook features such as Timeline as well as Ticker -- the column on the righthand side of the page that enables users to see all their friends' activities in real-time. However, Facebook users have no way to opt out of the service or even set their sharing preferences with respect to the information Relevant Products/Services about their online activities that becomes automatically shared with others through Timeline. (continued...)

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