Hey guys, an issue that has come up over and over again is Facebook and its privacy policies. So for this week’s blog I thought I’d comment on Chris’ Blog: blogs.ubc.ca/comm296scc102
The key ingredient of a successful marketing campaign is a vast source of information to base it upon. Currently, the largest database of information available is Facebook with over 500 million active users. Facebook is seen as a gold mine by marketers and is approximately worth 8 billion dollars, however, Facebook still choses not to sell its information. As a result, some people are puzzled by this failure to maximze profit as other credit card companies occasionally have sold their information in the past.
One reason Facebook chooses not to sell its information is because it’s considered to be private. Some would argue that information on Facebook is hardly private because almost anyone could get access to it. I disagree with this because not everyone will have access to your personal information if you take the responsibility to manage it. Facebook gives you the flexibility to manage how much infomation you want to share, whether if it’s just with friends or the entire world. If, however, you are one of those people that are paranoid about getting your information stolen I would have to agree with Chris in saying that Facebook is not the site for you as there are always risks when putting your information out there.
In addition although some credit cards have sold personal information in the past it would be highly improper if Facebook chose to do so. In Canada the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) was enacted to protect the public from intentionally misuse of their information. PIPEDA demands that organizations disclose the use of their personal information and obtain consent if information is to be used. If Facebook chose to to break this law it would create a public relations nightmare. Facebook would lose many users including me.