The Art and Science of Everything

Apparently Facebook has a feature that allows you to subscribe to changes in someone’s profile. This completely freaked out my friend Nick, who is a literature/law type of guy — not particularly web 2.0. He does think about some digital law issues.

This discussion is relevant to anyone designing systems and environments to cultivate identity expression or mutual awareness.

Full discussion here:
http://boccebragadoccio.blogspot.com/2006/09/gross-invasion-of-privacy.html

Quotes that summarize  main points:
“It’s not the information itself that matters, it’s the new organization of the information into a format where not just the present is visible but the past as well. Whereas before, only the truly committed would search out a person’s profile and track the miniscule changes being made to it, now these changes are being (a) recorded and (b) announced to hundreds of people.”

“I see your point that by making the process of identity pruning visible, it’s maybe a little like showing someone while they’re putting makeup on. It calls into contrast what they looked like and what they’re moving towards. Facebook violated your performance by pulling your audience into the backstage, where you thought you were alone. Allowing you a warning and an opt out would have been a good option. Either they didn’t think of it or were, as you point out, desperate to get it out.”