Losing control of your 15 minutes of fame

Many people are reacting strongly to Facebook's latest privacy gaffe. Numerous articles [ADD REFERENCES] have been written voicing dismay and distrust at a company and their control over user's data. Some have even gone as far as developing rival social networking systems to give users ultimate control of their data - by keeping it local.

Social networking systems inherently breach privacy. The business model is generating content based on the information user's publish by themselves. From this perspective any privacy controls go right to the heart of the business model, which is a serious problem for the cadre of young, ambitious entrenpeneurs looking to make it big on your data.

Breaches of privacy and control over your personal information while discouraging is a lesser concern. First of all, if you don't want your user information available, don't publish it. Have some modesty. What is troubling is not the information you publish about yourself but the information others publish about you. This is the reason I don't quit Facebook. If I do, I have no control over tags or references to me by others. When the Internet was a pure broadcasting model, this was less of an issue, but now with the success of social networks, there is a greater danger of losing privacy by virtue of other people publishing information about you.

Ask any politician what is harder: controlling the flow of information that you publish or that others publish about you?

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/07/us/politics/07townhall.html?hp