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Loading ...The saga of at least the first controversial phase of Facebook Beacon seems to be coming to a close. Facebook announced that it is changing its Beacon program, giving the users of Facebook more control of how the system works in relation to their profiles. The initial system, which essentially forwarded people’s online purchases from Facebook’s retail partners to a member’s “friends”, was quite controversial. It, in many peoples’ minds (including mine), invaded a user’s privacy. It also forever changed the relationship a customer had with a retailer without the customer’s prior consent. And it put the burnden on the customer to stop publication. The customer, also, would never benefit from this arrangement.
Facebook came to change quickly…but grudgingly. That’s not a surprise because they had the gall to start the program in the first place. The concept of suddenly sending one’s online purchases to one’s newsfeed without letting one know that the program exists in the first place…and then make the task of opting out arduous shows that Facebook knew what they were doing.
If you think it’s no big deal, then take a look what happened to Sean Lane.
Some, in my opinion, naively, thought that this would blow over while others still praise the company in these efforts, perhaps their enthusiasm for Facebook itself will be shared again by those of use who taken aback by all these events.
Charlene Li just called the new system opt-in. It’s not. If you’re a member of Facebook, Beacon still applies to you. If you buy an item at one of their partner sites, it forwards the info to your Facebook page. Yes, now the default position is that the status is essentially “on hold pending your approval”. Even if you say NO, Facebook still has a record of your purchase. That’s for sure. Their partnership with their, well, partners, ensures that. And that is something that you can’t opt out of. So, again, the relationship that you had with those favorite retailers is no longer just with them.
This is all part of the new way of doing business via the Internet. For years, retailer sold customers’ purchase habits to interested parties who then, in turn potentially turn that info into gold. Yes, this goes a step further. It may not be enough for some. But Facebook is free, we can make connections on it, and it costs money to run.
Marketing companies should take note. We should step into this territory carefully but not hesitantly. That’s because this is now going to be the way fortunes are made. And I’m opting in for that.
Filed under: Blowback, Facebook, Facebook Apps, Facebook Beacon, Online Privacy, Piracy
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[…] Beacon is better, now wait and see… The saga of at least the first controversial phase of Facebook Beacon seems to be coming to a close. Facebook announced that it is changing its Beacon program, giving the users of Facebook more control of how the system works in relation to their profiles. […]