13 September 2006 | Author: D. Miller

Further controversy predicted for Facebook

Facebook has been met with further controversy as it opened its membership base to users from formerly excluded geographical areas. To join previously, a user had to be associated with an approved group - certain high schools or colleges, for example - or an approved company such as Apple. But with the launch of its new membership scheme, Facebook has been confronted with a hard sell to current members, many of whom are already confused by the timing of the feature, as the company is still attempting to appease those left feeling sore after the launch of the now-infamous 'new feed' and ' mini-feed' features.

The development has left many feeling as though they've lost their privacy - something the social site previously championed. Countless members petitioned the company via email when it became apparent that the new features would force them to broadcast any alterations on their profiles to everyone in their private online network. With the majority of members having hundreds - and in some cases, thousands - of friends within their network, it has come as no surprise that these new features inundated members with almost limitless trivia about other members.

While Facebook tried to settle the tide of unrest within its almost 9.5million-user base by introducing security features that would enable them to control feeds, members are still given no choice to opt out of the scheme - which many feel should be the case. The proposed change to the membership process of allowing users who are not part of a group, but associated with one of 500 designated regions to join, has, as predicted, caused concern among existing members.

It is understandable that current members who joined Facebook because of its strong ties with a, primarily college-based, network may feel like the site is becoming diluted or misguided by advertising revenues from its original vision.

As Facebook has expanded over time, ripples of opposition have been apparent, for example, when the site started to accept high school students, concerns arose from the older base of college students. Now, the introduction of members from previously omitted geographical locations is predicted to open Facebook up to a similar profile viewing process as MySpace - bringing with it a host of security issues.

Recent news stories have publicised the dangers of online social networking, where the viewing and posting of information about a user is incredibly difficult to regulate. Patrick Corbett, a law professor from Cooley Law School who has been working to set up a high tech crime unit in the Michigan Attorney General's Office, has recently stated:

"There's no such thing as anonymity. You don't know what someone could do with [what you post]."

With the online presence of social networking sites continually growing, online users must now, more than ever, re-evaluate how they interact with others; at the same time, networking sites will have to do everything in their power to provide optimal user-protection.

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