Post-Note: 3/2/09. I've heard that the new TOS's have been changed/removed.I have some friends who keep talking up Facebook with me. The biggest reason for some is the increased ability (vs. Myspace) to enact privacy filters to control who can or cannot access one's account information.
Facebook is making a splash about this, using sparklines to help users set the exact privacy level they require. A brief article on Mashable gives more detail.
However, this 2/16/09 Mashable article brings some scary news. Facebook has changed its Terms of Service (TOS) so that now everything you ever write, upload, comment on, etc. belongs to Facebook in perpetuity, regardless of whether you leave Facebook at a later date.
That means words, pictures... whatever.
It's a little unnerving to think that while millions of people are using Facebook to connect with old friends, Facebook is taking ownership of their every word, photo or suggestion for improvement. The TOS are new, and retroactive.
It's not that I think that Facebook is part of some nefarious plot to undermine copyright and artistic control. No, it's not like that at all. It's simply that I think the Internet and social networks are pushing copyright and ownership issues so far past our laws that we are entering a land of remarkable unknowns. There are nothing but questions here... and, of course, lawyers.
Pic Info: "Facebook Knows What You Did Last Summer," From Flickr CC
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