Archive for December, 2007

My house, which faired better than my neighbors, was without electricity for seven and a half days. I probably would have gone crazy, but I grew up in a country that had frequent water and power outages, so I was accustom to such inconveniences.

I’ve been reading a about many parts of Zimbabwe, Somalia, Sudan, and other countries where my most inconvenient day would be considered a blessing. It seems to me that I should be more grateful for the comforts I have. I’m not saying that I don’t enjoy the benefits of my electrically convenience life, but I feel a little perspective is in order.

The last week was a fresh reminder, a small taste of what life is like for many around the world. I do not regret the experience. Rather, I find myself pondering if I need to endure such hardships more often.

Of the nearly 300,000 people who lost power, there are still several thousand without electricity almost 9 days later.

Someone once asked what business McDonalds is in. The response was predictable, “they make burgers.” However the answer is very different:

“We are in the real estate business. The only reason we sell hamburgers is because they are the greatest producer of revenue from which our tenants can pay us rent.” ¹

Similarly, it can be asked what business Facebook is in and the subsequent response, “social networking,” would be misguided.

Facebook is an advertising platform that specializes in targeted advertising. They gather data about your usage on Facebook (and 40+ other sites) in order to server up advertising that you’re more likely to click on.

So here’s the kicker…today I saw an ad for “the fastest growing gay social network for gay men” on my Facebook profile. So this brings me to one of two conclusions: One, Facebook thinks I’m gay. Or Two, Facebook thinks that people who look at my profile are gay.

I don’t mind advertising as a means of sustaining freely available online services, but I never signed up for sexual or provocative advertising. And I’m not about to start clicking on it, so it’s a waste of my time and their money to show it to me.

I was once so proud of Facebook. But I have been perturbed by recent events. I currently work for a company whose primary business model is advertising. And I hope that my disgust with Facebook will help shape our companies future for everyone’s best interests.

1. http://everything2.com/index.pl?node=mcdonald’s

I finally got around to installing my very own WordPress blog. Not that I’m actually going to use this thing, but it might be nice since that whole xanga thing died out. Wow, that was short lived. I remember all my friends were screaming, “you gotta get a xanga account” So I set one up and 2 yrs later none of them use it any more. Now they’re saying, “you gotta get a Facebook account.” Fads.

We’re just passing out control of our identity to whoever shakes the newest shiny trinket in our face. I believe that my identity should be in my hands. Or at least, I should have some control over it.

The problem with the online world, currently, is that controlling your identity and establishing community are at odds with each other. It doesn’t have to be that way. We just need a new model of identity discovery that allows the users to maintain his/her identity as they choose to share, or not to share, it with the world. Unfortunately, it seems most people don’t really want that kind of responsibility.