Facebook need to be very VERY Careful

There's some really bad news flying around Facebook. So much news and ongoing revelations about the data Facebook (and allegedly other associated businesses) gather on us, and how Facebook (and allegedly other associated businesses, institutes and governments) use that data - and its all the stuff of science fiction books and films from my youth, just that its from the dark sinister books and films.

Should Mark and Facebook worry? I mean, I can't see any competitor on the horizon that is about to really challenge Facebook in their space, not even Google could/did. So, is it a case of so what? After all, everyone knew, for years, that Facebook (and Google, Bing, Siri and Alexa... etc) are gathering data on us, its hardly news, does anyone care? To be honest, if Amazon retargets me with 'appropriate' deals on products I have been researching and looking for ... good.

Well - the 'news', maybe, is not so much that data is being harvested (although maybe the realization of the extraordinary range of data being gathered - and the stuff not to do with my Facebook account - that really should be private), more HOW that data is being used. If the allegations around fake news, distorting elections, manipulating us etc are at all founded, then this all feels rather sinister. Until now, wherever your boundaries were set around Facebook gathering data on us - the reason was commercial, and 'hey - that's business' and that's clearly been palatable with most of us.

So far, I sense from what I read, and IMHO - Mark's apologies aren't cutting it. The sentiment seems to be 'Someone knew', 'this was sanctioned', 'Big Brother...' And I have some sympathy with that position. As this 'The New Yorker' article by Andrew Marantz puts it "

Even after Cambridge Analytica, Facebook is still professing neutrality. But, as its C.E.O. readies to testify to Congress, the public isn’t buying it.

I think he's right, Facebook are losing (have lost?) the public's trust. The problem with that for Facebook is trends, flocks and herds. We are influenced by trends and demonstrate a flock/herd mentality. If a trend develops where people leave Facebook, or most likely simply stop using it, that is hard to stop. And this exodus seems to be getting organized, so many brands have declared they no longer advertise with Facebook, and then there was this - #deletefacebook.

I guess we will see, soon. Facebook needs to be careful and 'DO' the right thing, not just say what they think we want to hear, time to be responsible and not behave like our politicians ;)

<EDIT> on the day of publishing this article - Facebook announced they would be writing to everyone whose data was used - good start, I guess it depends what they say and do next still.

What prompted me to write this was an article I read this morning about Facebook adding an option to 'Unsend Messages' - but they are releasing it ONLY after Facebook Executives were found to be using the option. <Sigh> caught again. I know I shouldn't be surprised, and I'm not about to cancel my Facebook account - to be honest, if my timeline becomes free of sales pitches ... woot-woot - happy days. But for the first time, I think the brand is at risk.

Mick

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