The Internet's Freshest Face
Though professional contact was his initial goal with Facebook, the program has broadened into a friendlier tool for Hugo. “It’s helped me get ‘in touch’ with several friends I haven’t talked to in years, but by ‘in touch’ I mean we’ve added one another as friends,” he says. “Listing someone as a friend seems to be the very definition of ‘the least you can do.’ But frankly, sometimes that’s all you want.”
Some people also go in the opposite direction, like V.V. Ganeshananthan, a 27-year-old writer in New York, who started using Facebook to connect with old friends. V.V. recently discovered, she says, that Facebook “can be helpful for other things, like for people who are interested in my readings.” Now that V.V.’s first novel will be published in the spring, potential readers have found her through Facebook and are interested in her work.
How Secure is Facebook?
Another thing that makes Facebook different from other social networking sites is its focus on personal security and privacy. For starters, users are urged to create pages that represent “real entities” as opposed to personas. Any fake pages that are created will promptly be deleted. This can give you some peace of mind that the “Jane Doe” you see is the same one you remember from high school.
Facebook also gives you the power of privacy: At the top of your profile page, you’ll see a “privacy” link that allows you to set a comfortable level of security. With Facebook profiles now made searchable on Google, and Facebook’s new advertising program beacon reporting on your online purchases, you’ll want to restrict or allow as much or as little information as fits with your overall goal.
However, there’s always the chance that your personal information could be mined for illegal purposes. “The most common privacy concern is that someone may get your personal information and use it to stalk you,” Lampe says. “If you’re really concerned about this possibility, then you either need to not put the info on there or alter your privacy setting so that only your friends can see your info.”
