Backstabber Report

Facebook Makes A Long Term Blunder With New “Timeline”

Maybe it’s because I’m a webmaster, but founder Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook is instituting changes that may have him rethinking his decision to release his “Timeline” system for users of his social network. Though, if what is said about Zuck is true, it may be decades before he realizes his mistake.

You see, I know that what goes on the Internet stays on the Internet. It was bad enough when pictures of people were unknowingly posted by others without privacy measures, but this “timeline” system has some serious privacy issues – some of which may not surface for years down the road.

Let’s say a young high school student posts some pictures of a summer party. It may seem amusing at the time to all the friends that the high school student is drunk off their ass with someone else having a hand down their pants, but that picture may come back to haunt the victim years later. What if the young individual later graduates with top honors, moves through society and eventually runs for public office. Will that picture be used for a smear campaign? How many of us have skeletons in our closet we wouldn’t want known? It could even be something as seemingly innocent as posing with a friend who later becomes a crack whore, or meth dealer.

Who would subscribe to this “timeline” Facebook is now offering? The young and the idiots who think they have to share everything they do, to the world. The only time the world is interested in their lives is if they become notorious, or someone they know becomes notorious.

It’s bad enough that people, both young and old, post their lives on social networks. Now, they give an exact accounting of when.

Then there is the matter of including books you read, movies you watch, and purchases you make that are all included in this “timeline” idea. Talk about tracking you and the corporations ability to target you! While I might have no hesitation to let my friends know of a great book or movie I recommend, I don’t trust Zuckie boy not to have a “glitch” in his FB coding that allowed years of my data to be released to corporations or worse, the government.

At this point I don’t know how well the public will embrace the Facebook Timeline. I suspect most users will think it the best thing since sliced bread until the problems arise.

As for me, I keep my Facebook account simple. An occasional visit to wish someone a happy birthday, and to post links back to my websites.