Three days ago, Facebook impresario Mark Zuckerberg was just telling everybody to calm down. The launch of two new features – Mini-Feed and News Feed – had hundreds of thousands of Facebook users fuming about what they perceived as a loss of privacy, and Zuckerberg’s crowd control (“Breathe. We hear you.”) seemed to many like empty assertions. Today, though, Facebook’s's actions are speaking louder.
In a post that’s equal parts apology and introduction of new functionality, Zuckerberg admits “We really messed this one up” while promising immediate improvements. Here’s a snip:
“…We didn’t build in the proper privacy controls right away. This was a big mistake on our part, and I’m sorry for it. But apologizing isn’t enough. I wanted to make sure we did something about it, and quickly. So we have been coding nonstop for two days to get you better privacy controls. This new privacy page will allow you to choose which types of stories go into your Mini-Feed and your friends’ News Feeds, and it also lists the type of actions Facebook will never let any other person know about. If you have more comments, please send them over.”
He goes on to thank the users who made such a ruckus (“I am glad we got to hear you”), and notes that many of the protest groups, ironically, were “highlighted” by the much-despised News Feed. He’s also throwing himself and some other Facebook folks on the mercy of the users – they’ll be appearing in a group called “Free Flow of Information on the Internet” tomorrow for some online discussion action at 4PM.
It should be noted that Facebook isn’t doing away with the feeds (which is what some angry folks demanded), only giving its users greater control over what kinds of info the feeds broadcast about them, and who gets to see it. If the improved privacy controls lead to a placated acceptance, then this whole brouhaha becomes the perfect example of what social networking is all about: individuals voicing their concerns in groups and being heard.
