"Facebook privacy still awry"

Facebook privacy still awry says expert
by Stan Beer
http://www.itwire.com/your-it-news/home-it/42330-facebook-privacy-still-awry-says-security-expert

Facebook’s privacy settings have always been a bit of a hot topic in our tutorials. I’ve become even more interested in the whole privacy settings topic ever since I started seeing all these ‘where are you’ tabs popping up on my feed in the last week or so. So it seems not only can Facebook users discover every single detail about you and your life experiences, but they can also now see exactly where you are and what you’re doing. It seems Facebook is becoming more and more invasive and we are falling right into its trap. So when I stumbled upon this article about Facebook’s privacy settings, I couldn’t resist doing my reflective write-up about it. It supports and reinforces everything that we have already discussed in the last few weeks regarding online-community privacy settings.

The article discusses the current lacking Facebook security structure; that it is in dire need of a change from an opt-out to an opt-in model. Despite a recent announcement by Facebook that changes are soon coming to the interface that aims to make sharing smaller things with more intimate groups easier, the article argues that this will just be another ‘missed opportunity’ by Facebook in its attempt to make the website more user friendly. The article suggests that Facebook is missing the bigger picture and a more fundamental change is needed rather than the constant skimming along the surface.

This article is not hugely in-depth, nor is it scholarly, but its currency and use of credible sources make it compelling and effective. The author of the article, Stan Beer, is himself an educated and experienced man with 30 years involvement in the IT industry, as both a technology professional and industry commentator. The article is straight to-the-point and lacks in personal opinion from the author himself, which I feel would have made it more effective. However, its factual writing style is still enough to draw in the reader to what’s being said.