Sharing/Oversharing

I vividly remember my first Facebook status update; I felt like I was crossing a dangerous threshold. This past January, I had an acquaintance tell me he enjoyed that I was always in his news feed, regardless of time of day. I took that as a bad sign, and had flashbacks to reading Emily Gould’s piece Exposed, which detailed her addiction to sharing online. Her job, and thus her life, was online, and over time her sense of privacy crumbled to a point of no return; every action was chronicled via blog, and every reader comment became part of a life-defining feedback loop.

The New York Times did an interesting piece this weekend on the “Tell-All Generation”, chronicling a small shift as early 20-somethings realize their online persona is also their virtual resume. Yet, just as some freshly-minted college grads are realizing the discrepancy between their resume interests (volunteering, photography) and their Facebook interests (keg-stands, grilling), a slightly older set of consumers is working to remove the line between their offline and online selves, pushing the boundaries of privacy further and further. And companies are gobbling it up.

Opting-In, With Lots of Pressure

The Facebook privacy conversation is a much-debated topic, mostly because Facebook is trying to own the internet, and they’ll do that better (and make more money doing it) if they have a lot of personal data to work with. They claim they’ve got our privacy interests in mind, but making my info inaccessible is not in their best interest. Their VP of Public Policy argues that Facebook is an opt-in service, which is, of course, true. I’d argue that, within Gen X and Gen Y, the absence of a Facebook account is either a badge of honor or the mark of a social pariah.

Opting-In, With No Pressure At All

I’m far more interested, however, with the one-off services that consumers seek out themselves. I was shocked when Blippy first opened it’s virtual doors, asking consumers to share their intimate transaction data to paint a picture of our bizarre and unique spending habits. I opted out. My decision was vindicated when a few intimate transaction details ended up in Google search, but it appears that Blippy is still going strong, with over $150 million in monthly transaction data. Up next? CC: Everybody, a service that allows you to publish emails publicly, and have them open for public comment.

I Want to Mine Your Data
From a research perspective, I am fascinated. Every day, I have access to more and more data points, both individual and aggregate, that tell me the intimate details of peoples’ lives. No longer is an online persona just a perceived self, a la Match.com. The persona can now be defined by tangible activities, even without going as far as Blippy. How often does an online shopping website ask if you’d like to share your purchase on Facebook? From a personal perspective, I’m a tad nervous, though I can’t quite pinpoint why. It will subside, and I’ll share more. Facebook is banking on this, not because they are pushing me in that direction, but because others are already doing so. Is it really Facebook’s fault?

Extra Reading

There is a ton of back and forth going on regarding this topic. This post is meant to just start the conversation. Feel free to post additional reads in the comments section.

• Lawmakers and Facebook privacy
• Cool infograph on historical privacy settings on Facebook
• Blippy’s API and a new, similar service, Swipely
• Formspring, which seems to me to be a bit like a slambook

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