FACEBOOK: MANAGING YOUR PRIVACY FOR THEIR PROFIT
FACEBOOK: MANAGING YOUR PRIVACY FOR THEIR PROFIT
CASE STUDY QUESTIONS
1. What concepts in the chapter are illustrated in this case?
Facebook is the largest social networking site in the world so it is moving commerce to the internet and Web. In this e-commerce case, the basic construct of ecommerce are illustrated, use of the internet and Web to transact business; digitally enabled transactions. Moreover, this case includes unique features of ecommerce: richness, interactivity, information density, and personalization/customization.
Richness is possible to deliver rich messages with text, audio and video simultaneously to large numbers of people. Interactivity is the technology works through interaction with the user. Information density is the total amount and quality of information available to all market participants. Personalization/customization is technology permits modification of messages, goods.
2. Describe the weaknesses of Facebook's privacy policies and features. What management, organization, and technology factors have contributed to those weaknesses?
The weaknesses of Facebook’s privacy policies are the launch of Facebook’s Beacon advertising service. Beacon was shared automatically users' information of purchase with their friends. Users were angry that even user opted out of the service Beacon continued to communicate private information. Moreover it was almost impossible to delete an account even a user does not wanted to use. Under significant public backlash and the threat of a class-action lawsuit, Facebook shut down Beacon in September 2009. Facebook has also drawn criticism for preserving the personal information of people who attempted to remove their profiles from the site. It adjusted its terms of service to assign it ownership rights over the information contained in deleted profiles. Facebook’s privacy policy took the form of an open collaboration with some of the most vocal critics of the old policies. In February,
CASE STUDY QUESTIONS
1. What concepts in the chapter are illustrated in this case?
Facebook is the largest social networking site in the world so it is moving commerce to the internet and Web. In this e-commerce case, the basic construct of ecommerce are illustrated, use of the internet and Web to transact business; digitally enabled transactions. Moreover, this case includes unique features of ecommerce: richness, interactivity, information density, and personalization/customization.
Richness is possible to deliver rich messages with text, audio and video simultaneously to large numbers of people. Interactivity is the technology works through interaction with the user. Information density is the total amount and quality of information available to all market participants. Personalization/customization is technology permits modification of messages, goods.
2. Describe the weaknesses of Facebook's privacy policies and features. What management, organization, and technology factors have contributed to those weaknesses?
The weaknesses of Facebook’s privacy policies are the launch of Facebook’s Beacon advertising service. Beacon was shared automatically users' information of purchase with their friends. Users were angry that even user opted out of the service Beacon continued to communicate private information. Moreover it was almost impossible to delete an account even a user does not wanted to use. Under significant public backlash and the threat of a class-action lawsuit, Facebook shut down Beacon in September 2009. Facebook has also drawn criticism for preserving the personal information of people who attempted to remove their profiles from the site. It adjusted its terms of service to assign it ownership rights over the information contained in deleted profiles. Facebook’s privacy policy took the form of an open collaboration with some of the most vocal critics of the old policies. In February,