I like reading the Grauniad, and Jeff Jarvis, but must admit to being a bit nonplussed by
a piece by Jeff in said Organ.
Its a essentially a long and winding walk through the catechisms of the Social Net Credo, and repeats the mantras:
But for today's young people, keeping in touch won't be so difficult. They are all Google-able and will have threads permanently connecting them in Facebook or whatever follows.
and....
Young people have a different view of privacy and publicness because they realise you can't make connections with people unless you reveal something of yourself: you won't find fellow skiers unless you tell the world that you, too, ski. Privacy advocates would be appalled that I have revealed my most private information on my blog: my health data. But by writing about the heart condition I share with Tony Blair, fibrillation, I have found advice and support from others. Publicness has its benefits
These, though oft repeated, are not provens btw....and why do we think that humanity suddenly breaks out in sweetness and light in the Web 2.0 world? For some odd reason, those who point out the risks (based on fairly solid historical evidence) tend to be either pooh-poohed, or ignored.
But then comes a hint to The Real Agenda of the piece:
Facebook has made important refinements in the idea of publicness on the internet by requiring real identity - not the anonymity and pseudonymity that dominate so much of the web - and by enabling us to control that identity and the communities around us.
errrm...clearly Jeff has not seen all the Caesars, Marxs, Anne Onymouses et al on Facebook, nor caught up with the weekend's reading re Beacon phoning home under the Opt-In layer (see
here)....But eventually we get to the money shot......
This is why I do not think Microsoft's investment in and $15bn valuation of Facebook is insane. With 50 million active users, that's a lifetime value of $300 per friend - and those friendships will have long lives.
However, the average lifespan of a typical Social Network is a few years tops - say 3 - thats $100 per annum for the Facebook valuation. We showed how these calcs work
here.
Sorry guys, this - imho - is l
etting the side down. It is just too uncritical, coming as it does in the midst of a major re-evaluation of the limits to privacy in a Social Net world brought about by Facebook's
actions last week.
Beware...Friendship is not measured in pieces of silver.....
