On Monday the 31st of May, people around the world are being encouraged to delete their Facebook accounts as part of Quit Facebook Day.
For a lot of people, quitting Facebook revolves around privacy. This is a legitimate concern, but we also think the privacy issue is just the symptom of a larger set of issues. The cumulative effects of what Facebook does now will not play out well in the future, and we care deeply about the future of the web as an open, safe and human place. We just can’t see Facebook’s current direction being aligned with any positive future for the web, so we’re leaving.
I won’t be one of the crowd choosing to delete my account. I enjoy the opportunity to connect with friends on Facebook and as long as I control my use of the site, I don’t see the need to throw the baby out with the bathwater. On the other hand, I certainly won’t have a problem with those people who decide for whatever reason that their Facebooking days are over.
For some, it may be a chance to break from something that started out small but has now begun to take over more and more of their lives. For other, it will be privacy concerns and some may just feel that they’ve grown tired of Facebook.
What about you? Will you be deleting your account or hanging around?
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I’m with you, Rodney. Whilst in Brisbane, Facebook was a God-send at keeping linked with people in Perth. Now back home, and leading a fairly insulated life revolving around church, children and study, I enjoy hearing from people that I love but no longer see regularly. Like you! 🙂
Phew. I would miss you.
Seems like I go with the lot 🙂
According to your poll, I mean.
I don´t share too much anyways, the account was set up by a friend from US, so the language chosen is not my native one and I don´t think it´ll ever hurt me jobwise. Plus I think I know what I´m doing, no?
.-= Iris´s last blog ..Heads Are Best =-.
Hi Rodney. You said:
For some, it may be a chance to break from something that started out small but has now begun to take over more and more of their lives.
This pretty much describes what happened to me. I was signing in probably 20 times a day. As you know, I already deleted my Facebook account. I sure would have liked to have been a part of the May 31st crowd just to have an “official” reason (backup?) for jumping off the Facebook train. I have one cousin who is acting like I left just to spite her. She won’t even talk to me now, which is troubling to me in many ways. How is someone supposed to react when a blood relative quits talking to you over a deleted Fb account???
Anyhoo, I do miss it a bit, but I’m doing much better at keeping in touch with via email, and now I’m back to blogging, so everyone can keep up with me if they choose to.
.-= Donna´s last blog ..Graduation =-.
I don’t know what the big fuss is about. Just don’t add any info you don’t want shared. Personally I like the cross network / cross platform idea of sharing. Making Facebook a more universal platform.
.-= Johnny Brooks´s last blog ..Stop Hiding =-.
I deactivated my account. Facebook made me angry. They stepped over the line. That is all I say about that.
FB does not listen to its members – it listens very closely to its “customers” which are advertisers. They pay the bills – they will always get what they ask for. Members do not pay anybody’s salary. I am leaving – and it isn’t that I’m concerned about privacy, my life has been exposed online since the early 1980s. It is the attitude of the FB leadership towards this privacy. “We’re adding lots of cool features that you’ll enjoy. This privacy fluff will blow over when you see all the cool new things we’re doing for you”. (Paraphrased). Meanwhile every feature addition and software update reduces privacy and makes something else visible which *wasn’t* visible before – and in many cases you cannot make it invisible again. They add incomprehensible privacy ‘controls’ with one hand and take away privacy control with the other. All at the same time.
This mob cannot be trusted.
I will be working with others towards a decentralised social net where you can control your data and share it with who you wish, privately, and securely. It’s your life and your conversations. Your photos. Your friends. It doesn’t belong to a bunch of arrogant gen-y’s and their advertisers who think they know how and with whom you wish to share any part of your online life. This distributed social net isn’t here today, and will take some time before it’s ready and secure and available for use.
In the meantime, my leaving FB is a protest of their arrogance. We were able to share our thoughts and activities with friends and family long before Facebook existed. We will still do so.
Join us.