Ireland

Ireland

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Maybe I'm just getting old, I don't know.
Or maybe I'm just choosing my battles these days.

I keep reading about Facebooks "facial recognition" page, and for the life of me I can't seem to get worked up about it. Believe me I want to.
It's causing a big stir and I feel left out because I don't get it. People are protesting and the European Union is investigating.
It seems FB is building a data base of facial images. It uses this data base to identify people automatically.
Hmmmm, nope, still not upset.

So now when you upload a photo to FB, instead of you having to type in the name of the person who is in the photo, ( like 1 in 4 people in the world do), FB will automatically recognize that person and do it for you.
Now you have my blood boiling Facebook!
How dare you make my life easier.

I don't understand what they're protesting and investigating.
Is it just ugly people that are upset?

Let's see, people, all on their own, give facebook their pictures, along with info about where they live, what books they read, married or single. "Tell me your interests" asks FB, and people write short novels about their life, giving everything except their credit card info.
We do this voluntarily.
And I'm supposed to be angry because FB is storing my photos?
What did you think they were doing with them?

Nah, sorry, they aren't invading my privacy.
I voluntarily opened the door to my file cabinet at home and invited FB in.
I don't care if they use my pictures.

I get more upset when, for instance, our Government invades the privacy of it's citizens.
Like what happened to Professor Juan Cole. He wrote an influential Blog criticizing the Iraq war. The Bush administration investigated him, trying to collect sensitive personal material, so they could discredit Mr Cole. That's invasion of privacy.
I don't think they found anything, but they tried.
That, I get angry at. That's a battle I'll join.
Facebook, not so much.
_______________________________________________________________
I am not trying to pick on the former President, G.W.Bush. Actually I have grown to like him, the more I see him in front row seats of baseball games with his lovely wife.

7 comments:

Dawniepants said...

Another great post Mark!

I know I for one am gradually finding Facebook more and more unbearable, I much prefer Twitter these days.
Facebook seems to be the repository for people you've lost touch with years ago and acts like somewhat of a social newsletter for one-upmanship rather than any real communicative measure.
I think I'm a jaded old cynic these days, but I just can't seem to find Facebook anything other than a nuisance where many smug school friends go on and on and on and ....(you get the idea) about their children and their pets and their holidays and their new sofas (complete with pictures ad nauseum).
I keep meaning to delete it...but I can't seem to press the button.

Karen thisoldhouse2.com said...

LOL... yeah, didn't bother me either.

I find facebook is a great tool for keeping up with family and friends that I don't see often.

Sueann said...

I missed the Facebook issue!! Ha! Doesn't bother me either.
Enough said!
Hugs
SueAnn

Formerly known as Frau said...

FB we put our selves out there so we know it's everybody's business.....blogs sometimes the same ....but aren't we all in titled to our opinion without being investigated?

Happy Father's Day!!

Once Upon a Stranger said...

Exactly...If you put a picture or the written word for that matter on a site that is viewed by millions how can you get upset if millions see it.

People are so funny. If you want privacy get an old fashion paper journal with a lock. Even then someone someday is going to find that...unless of course you burn it when you are through.

We all know what FB is about, like tv...if you don't like what's on...change the channel or turn it off.

Alison said...

I didn't know about that, but hey, I'm with you. We choose what we put on Facebook, so what info 'they' have has been donated by us! I enjoy my Facebook life. It feels warm and friendly to me. Oh, and I have real live friends too! :-)

Zorana said...

I'm with you on this. Actually, I didn't even know about the issue, so it's even more a non-issue to me...