With more than 400 million users, Facebook has a lot of lives in its hands. Up until now, being a Facebook user could prove to be a risky proposition. Unless you had carefully restricted your information, Facebook could––and did––share that information with other sites on the ginormous worldwide Web.
Now, considering most folks sign onto Facebook to reach a small circle of their 200 closest friends, to stalk old girlfriends and share bon mots with former co-workers, this overreaching on Facebook’s part was a serious invasion of our collective personal privacy. Do I really want total cyber-strangers finding my vital information and that way-cool picture of a two-headed cat I have on my Facebook page? Heck no! So Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg announced on May 28th that Facebook would end this invasive, ever-evolving bait-and-switch policy. Wise move, considering the big boys in D.C. were beginning to breath down his neck. Four Democratic Senators had sent Zuckerberg a letter urging him to “reconsider” his policies before it was reconsidered for him.
All of this, of course, is a good thing for the marketing world. Facebook continues to offer brands an effective way to reach people where they live and share. The more trusted Facebook is, the longer it will continue to be a meaningful spawning ground for new brand relationships. So well-done, Facebook. The oil spill you don’t have to mop up is always better than the one you can’t.
