News Feed a blemish to Facebook

By Paul Szaniawski

Are students now finally worried about their privacy and the effects of posting their personal information online after the dynamic changes to Facebook? The answer is a resounding yes.

After the Facebook web site’s recent reconstruction, college students around the country agree that so-called “facebook stalkers” have been empowered by the web site’s newest features.

“We really need to get Facebook back to the way it was,” said sophomore Jon Pino.

Facebook, like MySpace and Friendster, is a web site that creates an online community using profiles with pictures and extensive personal information. Members can then “facebook” one another and become “friends.”

The new Facebook layout boasts a feature called the News Feed, which means that every new addition to one’s profile, including uploaded pictures and relationship status, is automatically shared with all of one’s “friends.”

Pino is the creator of Rider’s largest group founded in protest of the new Facebook design, while also voicing dislikes of the News Feed.

“I guess I did it mostly because of the whole privacy thing,” Pino said.
The group’s main page has a message posted by Pino that reads “Does anybody care about half the s--- that it says on here?”

On his group’s discussion board, members call for the site’s restoration to its original look. Comments appear such as “So stalker-like; it tells you when someone breaks up with [his or her] boyfriend or girlfriend” and “Hate this new Facebook.”

On Sept. 5, sophomore Mike Katz, a member of Pino’s group, posted sarcastically “Nah man, I always wanted to know when people ‘friend’ other people that I don’t know.”

Since so many students have accounts, members “facebook” people and become online friends without actually knowing one another outside of the computer. This commonly leads to staying “facebook friends” with an acquaintance or former classmate after months of not talking to that person. With the addition of the News Feed feature, a member is informed of everything his or her informal friend is up to — including anyone he or she becomes friends with.

The addition of the News Feed has awakened students to the dangers of posting material online. Thousands of Facebook groups have been created all over the country similar to Pino’s, including nine different factions with the name
“Students Against Facebook News Feed.”

In response to user outrage, changes were added to the site based on suggestions of members themselves, according to the founder, Mark Zuckerberg.

“We did a bad job of explaining what the new features were and an even worse job of giving you control of them,” said Zuckerberg in an open letter to all members posted on Sept. 8. “We didn’t build in the proper privacy controls right away. This was a big mistake on our part, and I’m sorry for it.”

A new privacy page added on Sept. 8 allows members to filter what content goes into the News Feed and into their own personal Mini-Feed, a miniature version of the News Feed. Also, members can block certain people, just as they can in AOL Instant Messenger.

Another option is creating a limited profile, in which certain people won’t see hidden information. This gives the power to filter personal content such as pictures or contact information away from unwanted eyes. However, many users didn’t know about the new features. Students, especially incoming college freshmen, had no idea how to protect themselves while using Facebook.

“I don’t really know what any of the new features are,” said Pino

As of Tuesday, Pino hasn’t put up privacy over his account and said he wasn’t planning on it. Currently the sophomore is on medical leave from school. Hurting his ankle has left him with more time on his hands. Ironically, Pino may find himself spending more time on Facebook while on leave.

“This is probably my punishment for making that group,” Pino said.