Check your Facebook settings

Image:  Customised from Clipart Kid

Great functionality for stalkers, noseyparkers and eavesdroppers. Facebook is now running a live feed in the sidebar on the activity of your Facebook friends so you know when they like something and when they are commenting on something. I’ve just shut my sidebar down because it is none of my business. As such that sidebar is also broadcasting when you are online which may or may not be a problem. Facebook asks a lot of us and I think it’s time we need to ask Facebook to adapt to our needs too. We know Facebook. We know it’s a blabbermouth but the amount of concern caused by the broadcasting of likes and comments on the main Facebook feed was enough to drive people to try and find a way to shut it down. That was invasive. Now the live sidebar is escalating that. Facebook has always pushed the social boundaries and operated on the notion that people will squawk for a while and then settle down. Good old chook shed slapping. This comments and likes broadcasting is causing real concern fro two main reasons:

1. Your friends and friends of friends can see what you like and comment on
2. Friends of friends can comment and like  things from your friends even though they don’t know each other

It comes back to the settings. You cannot turn off the broadcasting of what you have liked and commented on. You cannot control it either. Your Facebook friends have to limit this for you. They have to go to their settings and change the permissions so that your privacy is respected a bit more. It would be better and easier for Facebook to change its algorithm but it’s called co option and, at this point, it is unclear as to what we are being co opted into. Asking others to change their setting?  Leaving Facebook because they have gone too far and thereby being the ones who bring down Facebook? Not liking and commenting so that Facebook gets no more interaction and therefore fewer discussions which breaks our connections?

Everyone needs to look at their settings. You can start with the 5 cnet recommended in 2011. You can try and scroll down to the bottom of your own Facebook wall to adjust further settings there. Quickest way is to click and hold anywhere on the Facebook page and press the spacebar. I am never going to get to the bottom of my wall. It just keeps loading. Check the settings top right of your Facebook page, especially notifications and limit who sees what you publish and do. Set it to friends and not public or friends of friends. Check the bottom right of your Facebook page and click on the cog. Change those settings to suit your needs. Check your privacy settings. Basically, you have to go around Facebook and take  control of the settings as much as you can. You can help change this by contacting Facebook about your concerns and also by asking your friends to change their settings…which is rude, but we seem to be living in a socially incompetent world by default.