Facebook Stalking: Are You Leaving Any Trace?
So, you’ve been stalking the cute boy in your class for a few months now. Every day, you log in to your Facebook and view his profile, checking out the new pictures he posts online. No one knows you have a crush on him, for you believe you have not left any trace. However, one day, you forget to log out of your Facebook account. Your friend sees your profile, and strangely, she knows who you’ve been stalking within seconds.
Don’t believe this? Go to the “Search” function in your Facebook . Key in the first letter of the name of the person you’ve been stalking. If the name of the person you’ve been stalking starts with “J”, type “J” and see what Facebook recommends. Believe me now?
As an end-user of Facebook, you may not know how Facebook really works. Do you know that almost 90% (I can’t remember the exact figure) of active Facebook users log in every day to stalk others? That being said, that nerdy girl sitting beside you in class, who has never posted an update in Facebook, could have surfed Facebook four hours daily. Do you know that Facebook is consistently monitoring what you “Like”, “Comment” and “Share”, and from there, determines what updates to show you? That’s why if you love cat, you’ll always see cat images updates. Do you know that the Amy Cheong saga (the infamous woman who made a racist comment and got fired from her job) is attributed mainly due to Facebook’s algorithm (a system that determines whether it should be shown in people’s wall), in which Facebook indirectly promoted her comment and led to the saga? Now you know why Steven Lim is so popular with the influx of online social networking sites.
I have been using Facebook for marketing since 2009, and understand exactly how it works. In addition, I have been doing research on online social networking for my next novel, and if you know me, you’ll know I’m quite obsessed when it comes to research. Back in 2009, using Facebook as a marketing tool is affordable and simple; but since 2012, many changes have been made. No longer do we merely see the updates that are new; now, we see updates that are relevant (your crush), interesting (Amy Cheong) and paid by company (sponsored story). Even now, when I’ve got over 117,000 “Likes”, to reach out to 10,000 people with one update is no longer possible; unless you have a crush on me!
In other words, once you log in to Facebook, your every click is traced and remembered. “So,” you ask, “how can I protect my privacy?” Well, let’s just say that once you click the “Connect” button in your computer, you’re part of group that has no privacy rights. Of course, you are still entitled to rights like the content of your email (actually, not really; as you log in to Gmail, do you notice the advertisements at the side that seem to know the content of your email?) or your password, but technically speaking, every single word you’ve typed—every single click you’ve made—is being remembered and used for a purpose.
Now that you know this, do you still dare to stalk your crush every day?
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From: http://www.lowkayhwa.com (6 December 2012)
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