When the Wall Street Journal reported Monday that Facebook apps had transmitted users’ personal information to advertisers and tracking companies it made me wonder.

This is the result of a poll I saw online which asked: Will Facebook’s reported privacy breach affect your usage?

No, I’ll continue as always                                         
25%
1349 Votes

Yes, I plan to quit the site
20%
1070 Votes

I won’t join Facebook now
6%
332 Votes

I never planned to join anyway
40%
2160 Votes

None of the above
10%
517 Votes

Total Votes: 5,428

Actually, a friend was at the house Monday and her nineteen-year-old daughter asked if I used MySpace. “I’m not a fan of MySpace or Facebook,” I answered.

It’s not personal; I just don’t have the time.

Facebook engineer, Mike Vernal, insists developers didn’t intend to pass information; it was caused by the technical details of how browsers work.

“There is no evidence that any personal information was misused or even collected as a result of this issue,” declared Facebook.

Maybe it’s me, but I have a different outlook than most with “storing and sharing” personal stuff on a machine.

Everything of value to me on my PC is also on a disc and/or hard copy. Aaaand … I never reveal anything on the Internet that the whole world can’t know.

My attitude is that I’m dealing with a machine and it can’t be trusted.

I also know that all kinds of companies have been selling our private data for years. Like the magazines I subscribe to sell my name and address to advertisers, publishers, etc.

Next thing, I’m getting mail from these companies wanting me to buy their products or use their services.

I would never have the expectation that any site is capable of complete privacy.

So, my choice is not to reveal anything that is truly personal or that I don’t want known.

“Better safe than sorry,” I say.

May Your Glass Always Be Half Full

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Find out more about Maxi
http://maximalone.com

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