Facebook users act up
By Nathan T. Baker,Sept. 13, 2006For Belmont Vision

hree days after the introduction of new features on Facebook, users logging in saw a letter from founder Mark Zuckerberg that began,

“We really messed this one up.”

More privacy options were granted, but only after a wave of outrage from vocal users beginning on Sept. 5.

Stalkerish. Sucky. Those assessments and many more followed in the wake of the new “Mini-Feed” and “News Feed” features that allowed Facebook friends to view a user’s last 10 actions, including break-ups, wall comments and profile edits.

Before changes were made, the only way to hide a history of actions was to delete them manually. Now users can opt to automatically hide certain actions.

“Somehow we missed this point with Feed and we didn’t build in the proper privacy controls right away,” Zuckerberg wrote in his letter. “This was a big mistake on our part.”

When Zuckerberg announced the added privacy controls, the largest anti-feed group claimed nearly 750,000 members. Over 8 percent of Facebook users were unified with very specific demands after only three days.

No similar group had comparable strength in numbers to “Students against Facebook News Feed (Official Petition to Facebook),” created by Benjamin Parr of Northwestern University. An online petition and boycott efforts popped up online as well.

Other groups were more light-hearted. Belmont’s Chase Misenheimer, freshman music business major from Euless, Texas, created the group, “The Day Facebook Died – 9/05/2006.” He learned of the Facebook changes in his Kennedy dorm while he prepared for his first class of the day.

“My roommate was like, ‘Dude, have you seen Facebook?’”

Misenheimer said he left without more than glancing at the screen, since he didn’t have time to take it all in. Later in the day he created a group that would reach more than 1,000 members. Other floor-mates became officers of the group and Misenheimer took the role of leader. He addressed his members as “troops” and “revolutioners.”

In the first 24 hours Misenheimer said every 5 seconds he could refresh the screen and see 3 to 5 more people join.

“I got addicted to watching it.”

Misenheimer calls his group a “get together, spout off” group rather than something acutely political. His group collected photos parading Facebook. In a wall post he wrote to his troops:

“I would, however, like to draw your attention to Students against Facebook News Feed (Official Petition to Facebook). That group is the official petition towards Facebook. That was redundant. Please join their efforts. We are but only a mere 1300. They are a mere billion. Good luck, and may the force kick the feed’s arse.”

Misenheimer said he saw himself as a vessel and was impressed by the number of people that joined his group. He said he was also impressed by the quickness of Facebook’s reaction.

“It proves you can actually get things changed.”

Jump to next column

All Writing > Non Fiction > Metro Police Comb Madison Homeless Sites

Misenheimer hasn’t changed his privacy settings since new options were added. He said he hasn’t gotten to it yet. He has advised the troops to leave his group, or stay if they’d like. He has seen a slight drop-off in members. In his group, Misenheimer didn’t encourage members to leave or even ban Facebook. He says he would consider leaving if Facebook published directions to his house or something.

Nick Hamilton, freshman music education and commercial performance major from Arlington, Texas, said he would have considered leaving Facebook if the situation was handled differently.

“I probably would have given them two weeks and I may have gotten off of there,” said Hamilton.

Hamilton joined the groups he thought would make the most impact and get the message to Facebook, including Benjamin Parr’s group, “Students against Facebook News Feed (Official Petition to Facebook).”

Parr said he didn’t expect Internet celebrity status.

“I woke up at about 7:30 and saw the news feed feature, and was shocked at all the information that immediately came up,” Parr said in an e-mail.

“I realized then that every edit I made was broadcasted all across Facebook. So, at an impulse, I created the group at around 8:30 Tuesday and left my room. Next time I could check, I saw 13,000 people.”

At its height, Parr’s group reached 750,000 members. National media outlets, including ABC News, the Wall Street Journal, Time and USA Today, picked up the story.

The day before the privacy controls were added, Parr wrote,

“Facebook cares more than most companies about its users and being responsive, in my opinion, which is why I think the group will succeed. They are a corporation, and corporations are supposed to make money, but Facebook takes it a step further and listens.”

After Zuckerberg released his letter, Parr’s group released a statement to users which said the group made considerable progress, but that the work was not done.

“The group’s initial impression is that Facebook has implemented most of the privacy changes that we asked for…We asked for the ability to completely remove ourselves from news feed, and that is what we will continue to demand, if we must.”

Many students don’t need to read a newspaper to know the latest news on Facebook, since it’s a part of daily life for many. The Internet allows the framework for things to happen fast.

Many Facebook users were compelled to discuss issues of Internet privacy online and at the lunch table. Facebook was compared to Big Brother of George Orwell’s 1984. Others discussed how the latest changed aided stalkers. Photos were posted of what Facebook had allegedly become. Some Belmont students deactivated their accounts. Other were appeased by the new privacy controls.

Facebook responded to user demands showing it can be an agile company, but their responsiveness came with a price.

“Apologizing isn’t enough,” Zuckerberg wrote in his letter to users. “I wanted to make sure we did something about it, and quickly. So we have been coding nonstop for two days.”

It’s too early to tell if the admitted mistake will come with a long-term consequence or if Facebook’s handling of the situation is strengthening the service.

This article first published for Belmont Vision on Sept. 13, 2006. Republished with permission.