Last week, Facebook announced new measures to ensure privacy for users. The first measure is a privacy interface for each part of a Facebook element, such as a photo album or contact information. You may choose by category who is able to see this element. Then, there is a “Friends of Friends” option that allows you to share more with people you have connected with through friends, not the networks you joined on Facebook. Finally, you may create a specific list of people who can view a particular feature such as a photo album or group invitation.
These privacy options settle the more personal concerns that Facebook users have had regarding “Facebook Etiquette.” Although social networking sites have made it incredibly easy for people to share information with each other… they have made it incredibly easy for people to share information with each other. For example, a user may receive a “Friend Request” from a person whom they would prefer not to be able to view personal pictures and information. You may choose for that undesirable person to have only a “Limited” view of your page, based on the specifications that you map out on your privacy options.
But everyone’s a critic. CNet swiftly laid down an explanation of how someone could maneuver around these options. An e-stalker, if you will, could simply change his or her personal profile to sink under the radar, but this is not a new problem for Facebook.
The real question to all this is whether any of these privacy controls affect marketing on Facebook? Again, not much has changed for marketers because as stated before, these new settings really only affect users who face etiquette dilemmas with different types of relationships. A marketer can still “friend” someone on the site, or get those friends to do more through the old-fashioned angle. If you sell Japanese pens on the Internet, you should look for users or a group of users who list something like “Hi-Tec C pens” or “UniBall Signo DX.” In fact, searching “Signo DX” will lead you to a group that is obsessed with them. (You must be signed into Facebook to view the page.)
Remember, social networking is a lot like original content for marketers: relevance is the main reason why a target demographic will pay attention to you.
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