Why Privacy Concerns Are Ruining Facebook
Facebook was built as a powerful social connector, allowing users to befriend others with similar interests, locations, schools, and more. But as privacy concerns mount and users demand more protection, the social networking site's philosophy has started to go down the toilet. Now that Facebook is eliminating regional networks -- or groupings of people based on where they live -- it's becoming apparent that proclivities lean towards building fences rather than crossing them.
When you're in someone's network -- like if you belonged to the same school or company -- you essentially "friend" everyone on that network, allowing others to see the entirety of your Facebook page (this can be changed in your privacy settings). Regional networks granted access to wider swaths of potential friends, but therein was the concern: how much is too much? Do we really want the entire city of Boston looking at last year's Halloween pictures? Is making friends with these strangers something I want to do?
