TAKE HEED: A new FB privacy setting called "Instant Personalization just went into effect. The new setting shares your data with non-FB sites and it is automatically set to "Enabled". Go to Account>Privacy Settings>Apps & Websites>Instant Personalization>edit settings & uncheck "Enable". If your friends don't do this, they will be sharing info about you as well. Please copy and repost.
Although I wasn't sure whether this warning was legitimate or not, I did check the settings and, sure enough, Facebook had enabled the setting that freely shares my personal information.
Of course, my next step was to disable it.
I am well aware that by signing up for Facebook I was required to accept the diatribe of legalese fineprint that allows them to, amongst other things, whore my personal information to anyone willing to pay.
BUT, if they're going to share my personal information (or that of my friends) Facebook should at least have the decency to be upfront about it, and not use stealth ambush tactics to weasel this info to others for a fee.
Of course, it's not difficult to figure out why Facebook is doing this. It's ultimately about money and increasing the parabolic curve of their revenue stream to boost the perceived value of their upcoming IPO. Mark Zuckerberg has ambitions of turning Facebook into a trillion dollar company , and the only way he can do this is by using any means possible to ramp up cash flow as quickly as possible so that the algorithms can hit their predetermined targets. Selling personal information of subscribers is an integral part of this strategy.
Facebook has very little in the way of tangible assets. It's only real asset is something it doesn't even own - namely an intangible called hype. It's this hype that gets people excited and willing to sign up.
For now I, like many others, will continue to use Facebook because despite how much it ticks us off it's still a relatively useful tool for things like networking. However I am also certain that once a better alternative appears Facebook accounts will be abandoned in droves - in much the same way that Myspace got obliterated once Facebook gained traction.
The right circumstances can and will vaporize Facebook - literally overnight.
But before that happens Zuckerberg and his handlers at Goldman Sachs will be savvy enough to cash in their chips, leaving investor chumps holding the bag. In layman terms it's called the pump and dump.
Disclosure: It's not the fall that's going to hurt you - just the sudden stop at the end.