24-Jul-09 3:00 PM CST

Facebook sells your stream to advertisers

Seeing how Twitter has grown and is growing it is apparent to me that a social media engine needs to be an open home for info and should allow third party developers to access info and build applications on top of it.

But Facebook has been very closed compared to Twitter. That has changed, now Facebook is allowing advertisers and developers access to your information! Facebook data will begin to flow more openly. It appears that your stream and photos will be open to advertisers unless you say “NO”.

Yes, your data will be open by default. What does that mean? Well, advertisers will be able to profile your content and target advertising to what they think you will want to see. So, if you post something about dating and something else about China – you might get an ad for a Chinese dating site?

Facebook will allow third-parties access to data previously unavailable. From what I understand since permission is assumed by default you must OPT out. These marketers could in theory build a site using your posts or your friends posts in your stream and how would that make you look? I like an open model but I am unsure what this means to the future of Face book. The Wall Street Journal has some details about the changes at Facebook. I think you will have to decide for yourself if you should OPT out. How do you deny permission?

You can opt out by doing the following: Settings >>> Privacy Settings >>> News Feed & Wall >>> Facebook Ads Choose "No one" from the drop down. You may want to tell others, especially if they have kids on FB or photography that isn’t for unlimited redistribution.

If Facebook really becomes open, I think it’s a smart move to compete with rivals like Twitter. Facebook still has the big stick — over 200 million users and their data. (from MediaSlap)

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