homework4

Honestly, I wasn't really surprised by much that I found. I don't use Facebook a lot, but it did have pictures that I'd uploaded years ago, which was fun to look at. Most all of the information is still on my profile today, nothing surprised me about what they still had. Overall, it was a very complete picture of my Facebook usage. Events and conversations that I didn't even remember were also stored. I'm actually impressed at the storage capabilities of Facebook, given that they have over half a billion users.

 I think the extent to which Facebook keeps information is somewhat creepy, but understandable. I'm their product, not the other way around. I don't expect a service like Facebook to have no cost. Honestly, I don't have much on Facebook that I really care about them keeping. Yes, some basic info such as my age and school are on there, but Facebook selling this information doesn't really hurt me. The costs of me using the site are all taken care of without me even noticing. I think it's a good deal. No, I don't think it is a privacy invasion. All the information they have has been given to them. Facebook, although popular, is optional. People need to focus on protecting their information on their end of the equation. Don't rely on Facebook to guard and take care of your personal information. Just don't give it to them in the first place. Ultimately, they are a business, and a big one at that. Their privacy policies shouldn't be a huge surprise to anyone.

Assignment 4

I've always been told that what you post on the internet will never go away, but I never truly believed that. Because of this, it was somewhat shocking for me to see that Facebook had a lot of information about me stored. I was really surprised to see all of my past conversations as well as posts, people, and pictures that had been deleted years ago. It is scary how much data they can keep about you throughout your life. I think it can be considered an invasion of privacy depending on how they use it as well. 

This clearly can be very beneficial for advertisers. Now it makes a lot more sense to me how Facebook makes so much profit. Before I never really realized how they were getting that much money. I think that they should make it more clear to there users about how they store and  use their information otherwise it is unfair to do so without permission. Everyone knows that there information is out there, but I don't think we really realize to what extent. 

It would be really interesting to find out which information they keep and why. While browsing my information I saw that there was some info missing. I was really confused as to why that was missing over other things because I feel as if some of that data would be more beneficial for Facebook and their advertisers. Also, I would like to know how much data they are willing to store per person and how long. 

Overall, I guess it is somewhat surprising, but it doesn't really bother me. I don't post anything private on my Facebook. I believe there would be a lot of people out there that would be truly bothered by this though.

Online Assignment #4

Seeing all the information that Facebook keeps stored about me surprised me. I originally thought all the information that Facebook kept was semi if not completely useless but upon looking at it from an advertisers perspective and seeing all the things I liked and talked about about that i would naturally be drawn to if it were in an ad was astounding. Facebook knew that I was a student in Madsion, Wisconsin, who spent most of his free time outdoors and has a large extended family. Facebook knew who i stayed friends with over the years and who i blocked/de-friended. Facebook knew my daily habits of when i woke up when a slept when i was bust and when i was bored and how much i procrastinated before a would start my home work for the day. It knew most if not all of my medical history too.
My thoughts on Facebook keeping and storing this information? Honestly I could care less, I willingly chose to put it on a public website, knowing full well that it will be spread around in some way, shape, or form. I am not the type of person that needs to have my information kept private, if i liked a page about midget porn I already know that my future employers and family members will see it. MWhat I'm trying to get at is that since I choose what I put on the site it becomes my responsibility to share it or not share it not Facebook's. Facebook is merely providing an opportunity.

Online Assignment #4

Most of my Facebook archive was not very interesting considering I never delete anything and it's already on my profile for me to see. The only part that I thought was fun to go through was my old messages. It brought back so many good memories (and some bad ones). Since I have had a Facebook since 8th grade there were definitely things I forgot about. During high school, I went to Costa Rica and my only way of communicating with family and friends back home was through Facebook so reading those messages reminded me of a lot of things I had forgotten happened on that trip. Reading the messages also made me miss everyone back home since it brought back so many memories from the past. I do feel like some of my messages were not in my archive because there are some people I have been messages for years and there weren't nearly enough there between us.

It doesn't bother me at all that Facebook store this information. I feel that when I sign up for a website, anything I post or do on there should be available to the company providing me with the service. I have been taught since a young age that anything posted online is not private so I have just accepted that that is just the way it is. If someone has a problem with Facebook accessing their information, then they should not post that info on that company's website.

Online Assignment #4

I had such a fun time looking at my Facebook archive.  I just got a Facebook a few years ago as a junior in high school, so I am sure there wasn’t as much information on their as most other peoples in the class; however, it brought back some good memories.  I had messages with my cousins from California on there as well as conversations with my best friends from high school.  It was kind of sad to read through all the posts and messages I had with my friends from high school because I am not as close with them as I was four years ago.  One in particular was the conversations I had with my ex-boyfriend that I haven’t talked to or even seen in over a year.  It was very interesting to see all the changes from then until now.  I guess the main thing I was surprised with was my use of words back then.  I feel like my spelling and vocabulary has gotten so much better since I’ve been in college.  Even though it is kind of embarrassing to look at some things I said to people as well as the conversations I had with people, it was fun to go through it all.

I don’t mind at all that Facebook has all these things kept on the Internet.  I guess since I created a Facebook a few years after all my friends did, I was well aware to not post anything that I didn’t want anyone to see.  Therefore, any information that advertisers use in regards to my activity on Facebook doesn’t bother me really.  It is a little weird to see all of the things I have liked, posted, or talked to my friends about, but I knew what I was getting myself into before I even created this type of social media.  I understand that anything I put on the Internet automatically is no longer private, even when it says it is.  That is why I don’t think they are ‘invading’ my privacy, because I put it there in the first place.

Online Assignment #4

When I looked at my archive for my Facebook, I wasn't expecting much.  Joining in 2010, I've hardly done any activity besides messaging people, doing things for my groups, and poking people.  I'll respond to a post someone sends to me or say happy birthday every once in a while, but otherwise my involvement on the site is very little.  I never log into the account except when I'm in Madison or at home, so my IP address is always one of two series of numbers.  I'm sure that if I looked hard enough, I could find all the posts I've ever made just by looking through my timeline.  It was fun to see some of the conversations and how many times I've ever logged in, but it didn't seem like anything I didn't already know.  It's always funny to see the ads on the sides for me only be about rabbits and video games, because that's the only things I've "liked" on Facebook.

As far as Facebook storing this information, I personally don't care what they do.  I hardly ever use the site, so whatever information they have on me can be used any way they want.  I can see some instances where some people may not want certain conversations or questionable posts to be seen by others, but under normal circumstances, the only one that should know about it is you.  There is tons of information about us based on all the sites we go to, so Facebook is not unique in doing this.  As long as you are responsible with your posts, then there should be no problem to worry about anything you do.  In my opinion, then I don't see any problem, at least in my case, for the storage of this information.

Online Assignment 4

            When I opened up my Facebook archive for the first time, the first piece of information I looked at was my messages archive. I got a blast of nostalgia as I scrolled through messages from 8^th grade all the way up to last week. I then viewed the three videos I posted on Facebook my freshman year of high school but completely forgot about until now. Other than the messages and the videos, none of the information presented in the archive was that surprising to me. All of it was information easily accessible simply by looking at my own profile. The data is presented in a much more concise and accessible format than it is on my profile, but it is still the same data. I was expecting statistics such as how much time I’ve spent on the website and how many times I’ve logged in.

            I have no problem with Facebook storing the information they presented in the archive. All of that data is material that I’ve willingly put on Facebook to share and let other people access. I am however concerned that Facebook is not sharing everything that they have on me. I know for a fact that Facebook works with advertisers to target specific users with ads, and I am worried that my information might be being sold to third parties. The only people I am comfortable sharing the information I posted with are the 705 friends I have either requested or accepted. The thought that some advertising agency could have access to the photos I posted is a disturbing one.