The folks at Facebook have made no secret of their objection to the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act. And while it would have been a huge statement for Facebook to shut down, even for a few hours, you can’t fault the company for not wanting to turn off the money machine. Regardless, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg just took to his personal page to quickly voice his opinion on these pieces of legislation. [More]
Data & Privacy
Facebook Brings Listening To Music With Your Friends From Parents' Basements Everywhere To The Internet
By 1.13.12
Many Facebook users are already familiar with programs like Spotify and Rdio that can let friends know what the other is listening to, and allow you to judge that girl from high school for playing Spice Girls repeatedly. But now overlord Mark Zuckerberg and his minions are pushing the game a step further with a feature that allows users to listen along with pals in real time. [More]
Malware Worm Has Reportedly Stolen 45,000 Facebook Logins & Passwords
By 1.6.12
A nasty bit of malware making the rounds on Facebook has reportedly made off with the usernames and passwords of more than 45,000 users. The worm, dubbed Ramnit, has the ability to infect Windows, Microsoft Office and HTML files, say the experts at McAfee. [More]
How Facebook's Message Spam Filter Lost Me Some Fabulous Prizes
By 1.4.12
Think that Facebook’s de facto spam filter couldn’t possibly be keeping anything of consequence out of your inbox? Think again. When James happened to click that unobtrusive “Other” tab on his Facebook inbox, he learned that he had won a new TV, Blu-Ray player, and a copy of the movie the contest was promoting. But Facebook had filed this message away on his behalf….in August 2010. [More]
Lawsuit Over Facebook "Sponsored" Updates Allowed To Proceed
By 12.19.11
It’s been almost a year since Facebook began taking your “like” list and turning it into advertising via so-called “sponsored stories,” and on Friday, a U.S. District Court judge in California rejected the social networking site’s attempt to dismiss a lawsuit that claims Facebook unjustly enriched itself with these ads by violating a California law pertaining to commercial endorsements. [More]
Facebook Agrees To Settle With FTC Over Privacy Violation Charges
By 11.29.11
Three years after the Federal Trade Commission leveled charges against Facebook, claiming the social networking site violated users’ privacy, a settlement has been reached. Part of the terms of the proposed settlement requires Facebook to undergo audits for 20 years. [More]
AT&T Says Hackers Tried To Swipe Account Info
By 11.22.11
According to AT&T, hackers tried to break into some users’ accounts and make off with some private information. The company calls the attack an “organized and systematic attempt,” but more importantly, a failure. [More]
Jack The Cat Has Died
By 11.7.11 — Updated: 2.25.13
Jack, the cat lost at JFK and then found two months later, has died. [More]
How A Sheriff Uses His 10,000 Facebook Fans To Solve Crimes
By 10.31.11
Sheriff Al Lamberti, 54, is like The Consumerist with a badge and a gun. [More]
Facebook Invites You To Name A Few "Trusted Friends"
By 10.31.11
If you are hyper-paranoid about getting cut off from Facebook and want to allow members of your trusted inner circle to swoop in and help you out when you’re in need, you’re now covered. Facebook is testing a feature called “Trusted Friends” that lets contacts you choose retrieve access codes to pass along to you if you find yourself unable to log on. [More]
Heinz To Sell Upmarket Version Of Ketchup
By 10.26.11
Heinz didn’t get the message that it’s unfashionable to cater to the 1% crowd. They’re coming out with a 58th variety of ketchup. A kind for fancypants. It’s more “upscale” because it uses balsamic vinegar instead of white wine vinegar. [More]
Credit Cards To Sell Your Buying History So Online Advertisers Can Target You More Precisely
By 10.25.11
How about a world where you swipe for a Big Mac and then the next time you go online you get an ad for Slimfast? That’s the big idea behind Visa and Mastercard’s new business foray: selling off all your swipe data to online advertisers so they can more precisely target their ads to what’s going on in your skull. It’s another nail in the coffin for the quaint fiction we call “online privacy.” [More]
'Hunger Games' Viral Site Requires You To Give Marketers Control Of Your Facebook Or Twitter Account
By 10.14.11
The Hunger Games is a wildly popular series of books about a dystopian future where the government spies on your every move and teenagers square off in a to-the-death tournament for the amusement of the upper-class residents of the capitol city. The books are soon to become a big-time Hollywood franchise and as part of the much-hyped countdown to that release, millions of people are getting in on the viral marketing by logging onto a website that creates a unique badge for each user. But are these people looking at the permissions they’re signing away when they log in? [More]
Walmart Launching 3500 Store-Specific Facebook Pages To Promo Local Deals
By 10.12.11
The one major criticism I’ve always leveled at Walmart is that the chain is just too small. If they were really doing things right, all our cities would be enclosed and connected in one long continuous Walmart where all our desires can be met at everyday low prices. To edge closer to that utopia, Walmart is launching several new Facebook pages. 3,500 of them. Each is pegged to a specific local store and will serve up deals just for that store. [More]
How "Free" Really Works Online
By 9.29.11
On this poster, “Facebook” should really be a fill-in-the blank option. I can think of several other instances where this is true. If you’re not paying for a service online, then you’re what’s being sold to advertisers and marketers, either in the form of ads being served, your data being sold, or both. So, in the case of the Facebook redesign backlash, that was the pig complaining about the barn getting a paint job and a new rope swing. [More]
Photographers Find Nikon's Facebook Status A Little Insulting
By 9.29.11
Like all art, photography requires the acquisition of some skills: not just an understanding of what makes a great photograph and a good eye, but also a solid understanding of how equipment works and what it’s capable of. Not according to camera maker Nikon, though. The person in charge of the company’s Facebook page managed to annoy an awful lot of photographers by implying that better lenses, not skill, is all that you need to take a great photo. [More]
Spotify Users Not Thrilled About Mandatory Facebook Integration
By 9.27.11
Back when online music service Spotify first launched in the U.S., users had the option of using their Facebook ID to log in. But that all changed last week, around the same time that Facebook launched their much-derided redesign, and now new Spotify users must use their Facebook ID to log in. [More]
Senators Blumenthal And Franken Ask Social Intelligence Corp About Using Your Facebook Photos In Employer Background Checks
By 9.26.11
Senators Blumenthal and Franken have figuratively posted on Social Intelligence Corp’s Facebook wall a poll asking the company to answer several questions about its background check business. What makes this company’s service unique is that it scours the internet profiles of prospective employees and flags them for things like holding drinks or holding guns. [More]
