28th October 2016 – Have had to finally capitulate amid much (quite heated and “shouty”) protestation at my lack thereof and get assimilated by faceborg as detailed in this article.
Original post below. My views on facebook still firmly stand…
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In answer to a fairly regular query I receive: “Why aren’t you on facebook?”
While facebook as a platform may be considered the best thing since sliced bread to many, I have to admit, I disagree with how the sole company behind the platform has behaved on several counts and have elected not to support them nor their behaviour by staying off of their platform.
May be if “facebook” as a medium was instead a de-centralised and inter-operable communication standard (with a choice of providers, much like we have with Email) rather than a proprietary medium control by a single for-profit motivated entity (whose natural motivations are profits ahead of any concern for their users and the world at large), then perhaps, I would indeed see myself using “facebook”.
I will also mention that I am particularly uncomfortable (actually to be honest, “Alarmed” would be more accurate) about how we collectively appear to be handing (by virtue of providing them our personal data) over so much power and control over our our lives, and the Internet in general to a single for-profit corporation such as facebook. I often do wonder whether or not any one has stopped to think whether so much power over our personal data, the internet and ultimately our lives in general concentrated in the hands of a single profit orientated entity is really a good idea for us collectively in the long run?
There is this long held saying that “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”, have we all forgotten about this somehow?
It is for these reasons (and several others) why I prefer (and have chosen) to maintain my own homepage as opposed to handing over personal data to the likes of facebook whom I have little trust in as a custodian of such data.
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See also…