Members nat whilk II Posted August 2, 2012 Members Share Posted August 2, 2012 Ok - I'm on Facebook under my actual name. I have a gmail account. I do log onto FB using my gmail account as my username. But my gmail account is passworded, of course, like everyones. I've never used the FB feature to "find my friends". Now like everyone else, FB seems to look through my friends list and then pops up at me these "you may know some of these people" and so on, friending suggestions. These suggestions have all been recognizable friends of friends. But in the last couple of weeks, I've seen new names show up - suggestions for friending that can't really be friends of friends - people with whom I've had email correspondence on business matters - clients and such - who are total strangers to my friend network. This is really bothering me - there are privacy issues here....is FB scanning my gmail account and grabbing names???? I did not, and I would not, ever ever ever authorize FB to have access to my gmail account beyond simply knowing my address if they want to send me an email. I'm a hair away from shutting down my FB entirely and getting off Mr Hoodie's grid forever and ever. Does FB do this? Read your email???? WTF????? nat whilk ii Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scarecrowbob Posted August 2, 2012 Members Share Posted August 2, 2012 I believe that they pull information form your contacts in google: http://techcrunch.com/2010/11/08/facebook-finds-a-new-way-to-liberate-your-gmail-contact-data/ Though I don't think they scan your email. Mostly, I gave up on posting anything to FB that I don't want every dang person in the world to see a long, long time ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nat whilk II Posted August 2, 2012 Author Members Share Posted August 2, 2012 If their intrusiveness is restricted to "just" pulling contact info from my gmail contacts list, I might stay with FB if I: a - kill the old FB account. b Start a new email account for FB login that is not gmail or used for anything else. c - reboot a new FB account. d - watch those suckers like a hawk. Of course, I could research all this and maybe find out what exactly is going on. Until it changes. As if I had time for this - to do research in order to do damage control with regards to an internet social network...can I bill FB for my time??? When I set up FB, I did every restriction that was available. Which of course meant my FB page was useless. So I turned on features one by one - never did any apps, never clicked game links or any of the other sucker-links that freckle everyone's FB page. RRRRRRR....anyone know - is there a way to block FB from pulling gmail contact info?? nat whilk ii Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members veracohr Posted August 2, 2012 Members Share Posted August 2, 2012 Unless they've changed it, you have to explicitly approve Facebook to go through your email contact list, providing the login/password to accomplish it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members daklander Posted August 2, 2012 Members Share Posted August 2, 2012 Set up a Yahoo, Outlook or other email account and use it for FB instead of your Gmail account. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Beck Posted August 2, 2012 Members Share Posted August 2, 2012 I've never had that happen, but I use a hotmail account that I only use for a couple things. It Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author MikeRivers Posted August 2, 2012 CMS Author Share Posted August 2, 2012 If their intrusiveness is restricted to "just" pulling contact info from my gmail contacts list, I might stay with FB if I: . . . Is Facebook so important that you need an account at all? I don't have one. It's a bit annoying since I can no longer get a discount coupon at the local taco place without going to their Facebook page and printing it from there, but dammit, anyone who really wants to find me can just, pretty easily, and ask me what I'm up to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bookumdano2 Posted August 2, 2012 Members Share Posted August 2, 2012 I don't understand the concept of Facebook either. Seems to me that all it does is fulfill some peoples' inner need to be known... acknowledged... or famous in some shallow way. A personal pr machine. Where ultimately, some unrelated software is monetizing the results of peoples' need to be in the spotlight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nat whilk II Posted August 2, 2012 Author Members Share Posted August 2, 2012 Is Facebook so important that you need an account at all? I Good question. Definitely not as important as keeping info that has to be privacy-protected from being accessed by unauthorized anyone whosoever. OTOH - as a social utility, it does have a lot of social utility...I've lived a number of places, have a wide set of friends and acquaintances, but over time, you just lose track of so many people. With FB helping, I've been able to re-contact with a lot of great people. Plus my kids are on there...relations...old high school friends...college buddies...people from my childhood and places very far away now...even some SSS forumites. I also feel like I learn a lot about people and what is buzzing around their heads - who has gone tea-party or loves Obama, who is knee-jerk or who is thoughtful and fair-minded, who looks pretty good or pretty grim as time rolls on, and who is talking to whom....I find it fascinating and actually of some real-life worth. I particularly like having friends who hail from all points and entirely different poles of the political/religious/philosophical/lifestyle spectrums. I love 'em all. nat whilk ii Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author MikeRivers Posted August 3, 2012 CMS Author Share Posted August 3, 2012 OTOH - as a social utility, it does have a lot of social utility...I've lived a number of places, have a wide set of friends and acquaintances, but over time, you just lose track of so many people. Well, I have my real friends, and I have my Internet friends. Frankly, if I haven't seen someone in the 50 years since high school, I don't really care what they're doing now, nor do I think they care what I'm doing. I find that when I do connect with a friend or associate from many years back, we exchange pleantries, summarize what we've been doing in the last 20 years, and then we drift off and don't do it again for another 20 years. I remember that half a dozen years ago, it was important for working independent musicians and bands to have a Facebook (or maybe it was MySpace or TwitFace at the time) page because promoters and venues would see how many friends (and I guess now "likes") you have in their area and use that to decide if booking you is likely to make them money. I wonder if that's still the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BushmasterM4 Posted August 3, 2012 Members Share Posted August 3, 2012 I too feel facebook is a big ass waiste of time. Never had an account and never will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members electrochrisso Posted August 3, 2012 Members Share Posted August 3, 2012 Facebook is a big time waster, I bet billions of dollars worth of productivity is being wasted each week, by people pissing around with FB, rather than concentrating on their real work obligations to their employers, I hope the FB share price drops to 0. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Beck Posted August 3, 2012 Members Share Posted August 3, 2012 I don't understand the concept of Facebook either. Seems to me that all it does is fulfill some peoples' inner need to be known... acknowledged... or famous in some shallow way. A personal pr machine. Where ultimately, some unrelated software is monetizing the results of peoples' need to be in the spotlight. We're social beings and its just another way to socialize, but with a few advantages. People are on it for different reasons of course. What I like about it is the partyline atmosphere where many friends can interact together in many different ways. And it really is something unique. I have friends that I knew when we were toddlers meeting and interacting with friends I Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author MikeRivers Posted August 3, 2012 CMS Author Share Posted August 3, 2012 I don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Beck Posted August 3, 2012 Members Share Posted August 3, 2012 If it gets really bad with changes I'll get tired of it and probably slowly drop out. Someday we'll probably be saying, "Hey remember facebook?" Just like we now say, "Remember classmates.com?" Because sooner or later the powers that be screw it up beyond repair. I don't know about the coupons and stuff. I never get into that sort of thing. It's just another way to track your buying habits. IMO not worth the discount for what they get in return. That Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dramey Posted August 3, 2012 Members Share Posted August 3, 2012 I have only had an account for a year or two. I mostly use it to keep in touch with a few old friends and family. I have maybe 60 friends total. The trick to FB is being selective in who you friend. I have no problem denying friend requests from people I don't know well, or don't like. I've even turned down a couple family members. I have a few I have to squelch anytime there is an election coming up, but for the most part they are well behaved. I probably don't post once a month, but I check it ever day. It's a cool service, but like anything it can be abused. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zooey Posted August 3, 2012 Members Share Posted August 3, 2012 I believe you have to allow Facebook to search your contacts. I use an email account (Yahoo) that has very few contacts, because I used it almost exclusively to join FB with. Facebook will make guesses about people I know that are very, very good. Like, people I've contacted only once through my work email. I assume it's a six degrees of Kevin Bacon kind of thing. I suspect that anyone I've done business with is probably the friend of a friend of a friend. There are people who use FB the way others use LinkedIn (they befriend anyone they ever come into contact with). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rasputin1963 Posted August 4, 2012 Members Share Posted August 4, 2012 Now like everyone else, FB seems to look through my friends list and then pops up at me these "you may know some of these people" and so on, friending suggestions. These suggestions have all been recognizable friends of friends. Yep, and guess what? If you "Friend" one of these smiling faces recommended for you, and that person says he DOESN'T know you, then Facebook will slap your wrist by denying you Friending capabilities for an entire month. WTF is up widdat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KHAN Posted August 4, 2012 Members Share Posted August 4, 2012 Put another log on the fire... http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/permalink/2012/120730facebook Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members electrochrisso Posted August 4, 2012 Members Share Posted August 4, 2012 Put another log on the fire... http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/permalink/2012/120730facebook And cook me up some bacon and some beans... http://wahanegi.com/do-not-advertise-on-facebook-until-you-read-this A bit of creative revenue raking going on, but of course FB knows nothing about such things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Goobers Posted August 5, 2012 Members Share Posted August 5, 2012 Yep, and guess what? If you "Friend" one of these smiling faces recommended for you, and that person says he DOESN'T know you, then Facebook will slap your wrist by denying you Friending capabilities for an entire month. WTF is up widdat? false Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted August 5, 2012 Members Share Posted August 5, 2012 I don't understand the concept of Facebook either. Seems to me that all it does is fulfill some peoples' inner need to be known... acknowledged... or famous in some shallow way. A personal pr machine. Where ultimately, some unrelated software is monetizing the results of peoples' need to be in the spotlight. I really enjoy the interaction and have made new friends through Facebook, enjoy a lot of interaction between night sky photographers, have enhanced my knowledge of photography and music, and more importantly, just had fun. I'm not trying to talk you or anyone into getting a Facebook account, but you really should know that it can be use for far more than "Oh, hey, I'm eating at an Italian restaurant right now." The interaction, however deep or shallow, is really what people put into it. I belong to several groups and pages, for instance, that are very specific, and I really enjoy the interaction of sharing information and photos. It's a lot like participating in this forum here. Facebook cannot mine your Gmail or Yahoo contacts or other information...unless you specifically give it permission. If you are still unsure about it, then simply make a new Gmail or Yahoo account just for Facebook, as others have pointed out. And please remember, if you don't want Facebook to mine certain information, don't give it in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted August 5, 2012 Members Share Posted August 5, 2012 I assume it's a six degrees of Kevin Bacon kind of thing. I suspect that anyone I've done business with is probably the friend of a friend of a friend. There are people who use FB the way others use LinkedIn (they befriend anyone they ever come into contact with). You're pretty much on to it. They use algorithms that they of course will not divulge, but similar conceptually to LinkedIn, which is really insidious (and amazing) in how accurate it is in the "people you may know" category, For instance, if you put your websites on LinkedIn, it will grab every bit of info from there, including names or anything else. The algorithms that LinkedIn, Facebook, and others use have gotten increasingly sophisticated, and are astonishing (and frightening) in how accurate they have gotten. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nat whilk II Posted August 5, 2012 Author Members Share Posted August 5, 2012 I'm hearing a lot of voices like Ken's say "FB cannot mine your Gmail (and/or other sources) without your permission" - and yes, the six degrees thing is plausible....BUT, I think my attitude has lodged in this corner: 1 - FB states they don't mine your gmail without permission, but since when has FB been careful to err on the side of internet privacy?? 2 - it seems that using the "Find My Friends" feature is the one that has users handing over their contacts list for direct FB use. I really haven't used this feature, really. Ok, don't believe me - but I really haven't. 3 - this is where we land so much of the time, isn't it? Where we really don't know what FB is doing. Or for that matter, so many of the other large, powerful, and self-biased organizations that build the cattle shutes through which we plod. What's that occasional thudding noise I hear distantly? - sounds like it's coming from up ahead where everyone goes around that bend and you can't see what's after that point... moo moo moo, plod plod plod. nat whilk ii Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blue2blue Posted August 5, 2012 Members Share Posted August 5, 2012 A client pal and his GF generously out of the blue bought me a Google Nexus 7 (yes, the great tablet skeptic has fallen; I'm quite enjoying it but that's probably because I had few illusions about tablets; my qualms about the form factor were all spot-on, but may not have gone far enough; more on that in some other thread; the particular device seems very well made and thought out and performs great, touch wood) and, after getting a couple of favorite apps in it, getting Chrome synched, I started to install the Facebook app. One of the great things about the Google Play Store (formerly Android Market) is that you get a screen full of all the permissions you're granting any given app before you install it. Every app seems to want to control more than you think it should have to, seems like. But the FB app... oi veh! Basically, the FB app OWNS your mobile device... I don't know that there was any subsystem or part of it that FB wasn't asking for permission to access and modify. Now, for sure, I ASSUME that you can turn off many of those permissions from within the FB app -- but, DANG! -- it's extraordinarily invasive at default. Really, stunning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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