With all the fuss going around about Facebook, I thought I would write a post here talking about why people are leaving Facebook behind, and what my thought are on it all.
First let me clarify, there is a difference between deactivating, and deleting your account. And Facebook doesn’t make it easy to delete the account. If you want all your personal info deleted, then you have to actually delete your account permanently. If you want to delete your account then click here. (warning, this cannot be undone!) Once you click that link, it will take you to your Facebook and ask you to “submit” or “cancel”.
Deleting an account removes it from the site permanently and you have to start from scratch if you decide later that you want to be on Facebook again. There is a 14-day delay before the data is completely deleted to give users time to change their mind. If you change your mind you can merely log into the account and the deletion request will be canceled. According to a Facebook representative:
When a photo or video is deleted, or when a person deletes his or her account, we quickly delete all of the metadata for the photo as well as any and all tagging and linking information. For all practical purposes, the photo no longer exists, and we wouldn’t be able find it if we were asked or even compelled to do so. This is similar to what happens when you delete information from the hard drive of your computer. Technically, the bits that make up the photo persist somewhere, but, again, the photo is impossible to find. It’s possible that someone who previously had access to a photo and saved the direct URL from our content delivery network partner (this is different from the Facebook URL) could still access the photo. However, again, the person would have to know the URL, and the photo only exists in the CDN’s (content delivery network’s) cache for a limited amount of time.
My Opinion:
I have talked to others about this, and there are more than one reason people want to leave Facebook behind, but the privacy issues seem to be the biggest. I haven’t completely researched all the issues, well, because I don’t really care that much about it. I look at it like this:
If you want your life to remain completely private, don’t make online profiles!
On the other side of that, I do understand the main issue about privacy, especially for those that thought their profiles were private. I suggest clicking that link at the top and deleting your account.
I, for one, will remain on Facebook. Why? Because these issues don’t really bother me, and I still get “some” enjoyment from using it. Facebook, right now at least, is the single largest social platform on the web with a reported 350 million active users.
What About You?
Will you be deleting your Facebook account? Why or Why not?
I've got nothing to hide. Seriously? What do I care what FB does with the information? I knew when I put the info on the world wide web it wasn't private anymore.
In fact back in 2000 I had somebody pay a dollar on publicdata.com. They got my drivers license number and home address and came to my house… for a dollar. Our personal information being out on the web isn't anything new. If you don't want it out there don't put it up. And that's still no guarantee someone else wont make your info public.
You already know my take on this one Keith. I won't be deleting my Facebook any time soon. For one, I think it's idiotic to even consider it when you're building your brand and business through the web. Twitter is awesome and where I spend a ton of my time, but Facebook is just as big in the social media realm.
Anyways, I won't dispute the privacy issues but the fact of the matter is, nothing on the Internet is private anymore. If you don't want people to know something or get certain information, don't post it in the first place. If Sally would think twice, maybe she wouldn't get 17 different guys calling her at 4AM…
Yes, you and I have discussed this a couple times and I think we are on the very same page with it. I probably don't get as much out of facebook as I could, but that will be changing soon!
I think deleting your Facebook account is ridiculous, even if it a personal account (which is what most of the fuss is about). It's simple, if you don't want your employer to see those drunk pictures of you grabbing Mickey Mouse's ass at Disney World – don't post them on a social networking site.
As far as people who use Facebook for branding or business, they aren't faced with those issues really anyway.
Well, if they are smart and care about their business, that is.
I have been on FaceBook since pretty near it's birth Back when you could only belong to school groups. then came local groups and so on. Not sure if I like it better now or not, I can say there are more people to interact with. I do hide most apps, not really into games and such I mostly look for good information and want to answer questions and help people. As far as my info that's cool they can pass my name and sites around, nothing to hide here. These days you don't even want to speak unless you want the world to know what you said. I guess that comes from working under cameras for so long, I actually just found out not long ago that my work place has some serious audio recording devices also.
The point is if you don't want something known keep it in your head!
I will keep my account on FB
I would delete my Twitter account in a second (too much noise) but FB is way better for me to connect my friends. I for one never be concerned with the privacy. Brad is right, keep it in your head what you don't want others to know.
Anyway, if you're are really effective at what you do, 95% of the things said about you will always be negative. Scott Boras said that once….
I'm neither a pro FB or anti-Twitter. I just know how to use both to my advantage.
Yan
I've been using FB for quite a while and though it is a complete pain in the backside sometimes, it does have it's uses, in particular, I use it to promote my blog via RSS feeds etc and also my musical side is promoted with the MyBand and music tabs, I have thought of deleting it in the past, but every little bit of promo is always a benefit.
Did you grab Mickey Mouse's ass and post it on FB?
Yes, I was there when they first started too. Matter of fact you needed a .edu email to get an account!
I am with you, will be keeping mine….
Thanks for stopping by Brad, how is the Guild coming along?
I did grabbed Goofy's ass, but that will never land on FB. Not by me anyway.
I have had some negative stuff written about me, and I know I am doing something right because of it!
I am the opposite of you, I get more out of Twitter, but I will be keeping both.
So far, it seems like that 60% of users polled will be deleting their FB accounts aren't around here…
I have literally talked to 2 people that will be deleting their accounts.
It is difficult for a brand, business, or blog to deny the power Facebook can have. Almost 500 million sets of eyeballs is hard to overlook when you are promoting.
I agree, Facebook can be irritating a lot of the times. They constantly change the rules in the middle of the game, then suddenly change them back (i.e.; the recent custom landing pages).
I think most business/blog owners just deal with the annoyances of Facebook because of the powerfulness of it. I know I do.
From my experience, it's been a case of blocking the annoying things such as pokes, farmville (Urrgh) and a stack of other useless wastes of time.
I think those that frequent FB more than they really have to are the ones that don't really care what they do on it or how many times they annoy others with it.
I deleted last year. Too much overwhelming frustration at pure crap more then anything else. I've been debating as to whether or not to do it again.
The privacy means little to me; frankly I'm amazed at 99.9% of these people. How much more idiot proof can you get then, “don't publicize anything you don't want public”.
I have deactivated my account several times, but went back to it a couple of years ago and have stuck with it now that I have some interaction on it.
hmmm i was thinking, deactivating simply deletes everything ……thanks bro..for this information …
Ever tried to leave Facebook and found out they only allow you to “deactivate” your account? All your personal data, including photos, interests, friends etc will still be saved indefinitely! You don’t have to be a conspiracist to find this quite fish.
I deleted last year. Too much overwhelming frustration at pure crap more then anything else. I've been debating as to whether or not to do it again.
Why are you copying comments as your own?
i can understand why people would want to leave Facebook. What a lot of people dont realise is that any info you put on the net is pretty much there forever and available to anyone. There can often be things that are said or done on Facebook and other networks that can come back to haunt you in the future.
I am frustrated with the privacy issue, but then again I don't put on personal information that I wouldn't tell the guy at the post office about. We do have to take some personal responsibility for what we put out there. I am amazed that people put their phone number on FB and then complain about privacy.
Nope I am glad they cleaned up their act. I really like facebook and would hate to have to delete it..
Facebook is a great social network and I would not be deleting it – its a great way to remind people of who you are and what you are doing – from a business sense I think it is priceless. Personal information should be controlled thought – things like addresses and too much personal information is not a good idea though.
Deleting my Facebook account was a good move. I didn’t use it very often and when i did I felt ashamed seeing my friends and family posting utter rubbish. I don’t care whether you liked or didn’t like your dinner. I don’t want a snowball fight. So you’re bored today? Who cares? Endless drivel from people who i normally like and respect lowering themselves to gutter press levels. Not knowing how dull their facebook postings are is far better than knowing.
I personally won’t be deleting my Facebook as I find it has too much value in terms of marketing to just let it go.
Saying that however Google Plus is something I will look at migrating to, however I don’t think I will be deleting Facebook permanently.