com.motion » Identity

Facebook Connect Was What Pushed It Past MySpace

Lynn Eastep — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 01:07:00 +0000

Traffic firm Hitwise says Facebook eventually overcame MySpace in terms of U.S. traffic as a result of the launch of its Facebook Connect universal log-in product, according to a post from analyst Heather Dougherty. Facebook Connect is the ability of the user to use a single portable identity–and most importantly, one password, rather than logging into multiple accounts across the network of Web sites.

“The number of Web sites participating in Facebook Connect has grown quickly to over 15,000 Web sites (globally) including CNN.com, NBC.com, ABCNews.com, Hulu, WashingtonPost.com, The Huffington Post, and others,” Dougherty’s post read. “And what is really interesting is to look at the year-over-year growth in the market share of visits to Facebook, because there is a clear uptick in the growth rate following the launch of Facebook Connect.”

And that growth spurt was what made it the biggest site of its kind in the U.S., according to the numbers. The social network officially surpassed MySpace in U.S. traffic during the week of May 30, Hitwise estimated.Facebook’s rapid growth made it pretty much inevitable that it would surpass the News Corp.-owned MySpace, once the clear leader in social networking. But even when Facebook passed MySpace in worldwide traffic, MySpace still had a pretty big edge in the U.S. Ultimately, Facebook passed MySpace in U.S. usage earlier than some thought it would.
If Hitwise’s numbers are accurate, it’s a big testament to the success of Facebook Connect, which launched in full last December.

MySpace has launched its own universal log-in product, MySpaceID, backed by partnerships with Google and Yahoo. But it’s Facebook Connect that has caught on among both the Web-going public and the marketing world.

Participation from Web sites in Facebook Connect also has strong implications to appear more often in the search results executed on Facebook resulting from member postings as search becomes a more prevalent activity within this large audience. Facebook now has more than 250 million active users worldwide.

Woman Loses $4K to Scammer Posing as Friend on Facebook

Lynn Eastep — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 14:23:00 +0000

Jayne Scherrman, of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, was the unfortunate victim of a scam that turned her compassion and trust into a $4,000 profit, the AP reports. A still unknown crook hacked the Facebook account of Jayne’s friend Grace Parry and began to send Jayne messages, purporting to be Grace and claiming that she and her husband had been detained in London and were in need of money.Jayne figured if the couple could reach her only by Facebook, then they were in dire straits, indeed, and quickly wired $600 as per the scammer’s instructions. As is common in these kinds of schemes, subsequent messages were sent requesting additional funds. In this case, the huckster blamed the exchange rate when explaining the discrepancy between the funds needed and the amount initially requested.

All in all, Jayne eventually sent $4,000 via Western Union to the impostor before realizing that she had fallen victim to a scam. On August 26th, she alerted the authorities.

This tactic has been used before, but there ways to avoid a snakey scammers:

First and foremost, never wire any money without speaking directly (on the phone, not via e-mail or Facebook) to any friend who requests your help financially.

If you believe there is a plausible reason this friend cannot reach you by phone, don’t be afraid to ask them to confirm their identity. Ask questions that only they would be able to answer.

Don’t ask about birthdays or hometowns, facts that could be readily ascertainable online, but instead about where the two of you first met, first boyfriends, or high school mascots.

If you know or suspect a friend’s account has been hacked, try to alert that person directly. Then, warn all of your mutual friends, and finally contact the site’s administrators regarding your suspicions. Both your friend and shared pals will be thankful.

Follow these basic guidelines, resist your immediate urge to blindly offer help, and you’ll avoid falling victim to the widespread 419 scams that have taken a more personal twist when crooks ditched their Nigerian princess roots. [From: AP/Yahoo! News]

Facebook To Comply with Canadian Privacy Law

Lynn Eastep — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 19:02:00 +0000

Facebook will enhance its social-networking site’s privacy features over the next 12 months as a result of a set of recommendations from the Canadian government.

Facebook will increase the information it provides to its users about its privacy features, as well as make technical changes to tighten privacy controls, the company said Thursday.

The changes come as a direct result of a review of Facebook’s privacy policies and controls conducted by The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada . Facebook cooperated with the Canadian agency’s study, which lasted more than a year, reports Reuters. Specifically, Facebook will update its privacy policy so that it more clearly explains its privacy practices. Facebook will also reach out to users, prompting them to review their privacy settings. Canada’s privacy commissioner had previously threatened to take Facebook to court if the company did not resolve “serious gaps” in the way it handles users’ personal information and retains data from deactivated accounts.

Facebook announced plans to give users more control over how their information is shared with third party developers, as well as offering a clearer option for users to deactivate or delete their accounts.

“Giving people more control over what information they share and with whom is at the heart of how we think about privacy at Facebook,” the company wrote in its blog. “As people better understand how information is shared and gain more control over it, they become more comfortable and confident in sharing.”

Facebook has about 12 million Canadian users. It has a total of more than 250 million active users worldwide.

Enough About Me. What Do You Think of Me? Study Suggests Social Media Is for Narcissists

Lynn Eastep — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 12:38:00 +0000

Gen Y really is “Gen Me,” as suggested by a San Diego State University study. The study, conducted by Jean Twenge, an associate professor of psychology at SDSU, and Youth Pulse LLC, goes on to conclude that Gen Ys are narcissistic: focused only on themselves and incapable of acknowledging or appreciating others’ points of view or circumstances. Nearly 60 percent of college students polled by SDSU agreed their age group uses social networking sites for narcissistic, self-promoting and attention-seeking reasons.

“College students have clearly noticed the more self-centered traits of their peers — it’s fascinating how honest they are about diagnosing their generation’s downsides,” Twenge said. “And students are right about the influence of social networking sites — research has shown that narcissistic people thrive on sites like Facebook, where self-centered people have more friends and post more attractive pictures of themselves.”

Ninety-two percent of students who took the poll said they use MySpace or Facebook regularly, and 84 percent said they go online several times each day.

Detractors criticize Y’s (individuals born between 1980 and 2000) as products of a misguided parenting movement designed to buffer children from the negative effects of competition and build self-esteem — an approach, they argue, that has filled them with false self-confidence. Some claim that self-esteem without achievement to back it up has produced an unmotivated and self-aggrandizing generation.

What do you think? Are Gen Ys really narcissistic?

What’s Facebook’s Newest Status Update? Users file privacy lawsuit against us :(

Lynn Eastep — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:21:00 +0000

According to CNET News, a group of Facebook users filed a civil lawsuit Monday that alleges the social-networking site is violating California consumer privacy laws.

The lawsuit, which was filed in California’s Orange County Superior Court on behalf of five users, seeks a jury trial, as well as damages and attorneys’ fees. The five plaintiffs are described as two children younger than 13, a user of the original Facebook, a professional photographer, and an actress and model.

The 40-page complaint accuses the Palo Alto, Calif.-based company of violating California privacy and online privacy laws by disseminating private information to 3rd parties for commercial purposes.

Facebook is no stranger to privacy controversy. In July, an investigation by Canada’s privacy commissioner suggested Facebook is unconcerned with members’ privacy and called on it to do more. Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart expressed concern that while it’s easy for members to deactivate their accounts, it’s less clear on how to actually delete them. Facebook could therefore retain member data from deactivated accounts for an indefinite period of time in violation of Canadian privacy law.

The social network went through a user backlash over the introduction of its News Feed in 2006, and a bigger one over the controversial Beacon advertising program. More recently, a revision to Facebook’s terms of use prompted consumer advocacy blog The Consumerist to highlight language that it said meant that Facebook claimed ownership of user profile data and photos.