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Wherein I ridicule Facebook some more, then collaborate with the Panopticon

dnalounge.com

11–20 of 34 posts

Re: Wherein I ridicule Facebook some more, then collaborate with the Panopticon

#12
post #9

So we are tracked by facebook if we are logged in and see the like button on a different page. Does this mean that other sites are doing the same, if we see a button for their sites, like twitter or p interest? Or is facebook the main perpetrator here?

They're at least passively tracking, if not actively tracking. Your browser visits those pages and requests files from their server that contain the relevant code. And your browser sends along certain information in order to make that request. And this includes widgets like the list of a user's Pins or Tweets or whatever, not just sharing buttons.

Re: Wherein I ridicule Facebook some more, then collaborate with the Panopticon

#13
post #8

For the Like button issue, there's Shariff, which provides a privacy friendly social button bar: https://github.com/heiseonline/shariff It only tracks when you actually use the button. (also mentioned in the comments of the original article, but IMHO worth spreading)

I've been using this one; pretty basic and straightforward: https://github.com/cferdinandi/social-sharing

Re: Wherein I ridicule Facebook some more, then collaborate with the Panopticon

#14
post #4

>"Well, because that guy pointed out a bug without also blowing sunshine up my ass, I'm going to just leave our product buggy." Has this guy worked anywhere before? (Yes, it's a joke, I know who Zawinski is). I am sure there is a faction in Facebook who thinks their filter system needs an overhaul, and I'm sure this post will go on a big pile of "why" somewhere. However, if you're asking an engineer who works near (b…

A long time ago, jwz used to use Justin.tv for the DNA Lounge webcast, and I used to use his rants as evidence that someone out there cared about a given bug and we should prioritize fixing it.

If anything I think it helped that his rants were rude, since that made it clear how much he cared about the problems.

Startups are different though. What you wrote is probably a lot more true of a company the size of Facebook.

Re: Wherein I ridicule Facebook some more, then collaborate with the Panopticon

#15
post #4

>"Well, because that guy pointed out a bug without also blowing sunshine up my ass, I'm going to just leave our product buggy." Has this guy worked anywhere before? (Yes, it's a joke, I know who Zawinski is). I am sure there is a faction in Facebook who thinks their filter system needs an overhaul, and I'm sure this post will go on a big pile of "why" somewhere. However, if you're asking an engineer who works near (b…

A long time ago, jwz used to use Justin.tv for the DNA Lounge webcast, and I used to use his rants as evidence that someone out there cared about a given bug and we should prioritize fixing it. If anything I think it helped that his rants were rude, since that made it clear how much he cared about the problems. Startups are different though. What you wrote is probably a lot more true of a company the size of Facebook…

[deleted]

Re: Wherein I ridicule Facebook some more, then collaborate with the Panopticon

#16
post #6

I don't really get the pointed outrage. But this isn't hugely different than anything anybody else does. - Individual products like AdRoll and Perfect Audience let you track users and show them ads. Ever been to a site and had their ads pop up everywhere afterwards? Ever looked at a product then gotten ads for _just that product_? Yeah, that. - Google lets you track conversions based on a ton of information. What Goo…

He specifically brought up Google Analytics. Did you just skim?

The particularly pointed anti-FB sentiment stems from their selective policy enforcement, the privacy issues weren't specifically targeted.

Re: Wherein I ridicule Facebook some more, then collaborate with the Panopticon

#19
post #6

I don't really get the pointed outrage. But this isn't hugely different than anything anybody else does. - Individual products like AdRoll and Perfect Audience let you track users and show them ads. Ever been to a site and had their ads pop up everywhere afterwards? Ever looked at a product then gotten ads for _just that product_? Yeah, that. - Google lets you track conversions based on a ton of information. What Goo…

He specifically brought up Google Analytics. Did you just skim? The particularly pointed anti-FB sentiment stems from their selective policy enforcement, the privacy issues weren't specifically targeted.

Maybe this is a bit off topic, but I think trjordan's point was really that the tracking/retargeting industry is productized though. Google, Facebook and others ultimately serve as platforms for ads as well as providing tracking software. Meanwhile, companies like Marketo provide pretty advanced tracking/attribution data to the companies that use them. They specifically enable tying device IDs harvested through mobile apps that use their tracking SDKs to be linked with other browsing and email behavior to build extensively customized ad campaigns targeted at specific behavior patterns.

Re: Wherein I ridicule Facebook some more, then collaborate with the Panopticon

#20
If you feel trapped inside Facebook b/c your friends keep you there, you can start a Campaign for your favorite new/open social network on https://www.iWouldDo.it/ and start having your friends migrate.

This new tool specifically offers a way to beat the "prison effect" of products that are subject to the network effect.

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