SaveFacebook.com

Thanks for stopping by and for caring about your favorite social network on the Internet.

I know many of us are upset about the introduction of “feeds” to Facebook.com and that’s why this Web site has been created.

I intend to keep this Web site up as a resource for people upset about the introduction of “feeds” to Facebook.com as long as there aren’t sufficient alternative options available to users. If enough of us keep up the pressure, perhaps Facebook.com will listen to our concerns and changes will be made.

Please spread the word, however you see fit and use the information here to help get “feeds” off of Facebook.com.

Thank you.

Kiyoshi Martinez and Jeremy Pelzer
Advocates of SaveFacebook.com

Technorati Tags: facebook, social+network, feeds, news+feed, mini+feed, protest, online+petition, college, university, campus

Well, it’s starting to work. Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook.com, has responded in the official Facebook.com blog:

We’re not oblivious of the Facebook groups popping up about this (by the way, Ruchi is not the devil). And we agree, stalking isn’t cool; but being able to know what’s going on in your friends’ lives is.

[…]

We’re going to continue to improve Facebook, and we want you to be part of that process. Test out the products and continue to provide us feedback. Use your privacy settings so you can feel most comfortable using the site.

We hear you, and we appreciate the feedback.

Stay tuned… Mark

As of right now, there’s still no changes, however, there’s plenty of people signing our petition to make much desired changes to the “feeds” feature at Facebook.com.

As always, we’ll be tracking developments and encouraging YOU the users to speak up and continue to let Facebook.com know what changes you want to see. Until that happens, we’ll be here.

Technorati Tags: Facebook, news+feed, mini+feed, Mark+Zuckerberg, feeds, social+network, college, university, campus

I received this e-mail earlier today and have been given permission to republish it. I think Shurjendu makes a great point and really offers a reasonable solution:

“The “news-” and “mini-feeds” are not only annoying and intrusive but also clutter what used to be an attractive, streamlined layout. However, instead of completely doing away with the feed concept, which has some interesting possibilities, consider this compromise:

Create a privacy option for each user’s outgoing feeds… that way, every individual has a choice in the matter… the four choices could be as follows:

a) Everyone can view my outgoing feeds.
b) Only my friends can view my outgoing feeds.
c) Only people in my immediate networks (colleges, etc.) can view my outgoing feeds.
d) No one can view my feeds.

An additional set of options could also be explored: Give the user an option as to which activities and/or changes appear in the outgoing feeds! For example, I may allow relationship changes to be published, but don’t allow my joining/leaving groups or edits to my profile to be published. Et cetera.” — Shurjendu Dutt-Mazumdar (Amherst)

Keep those ideas coming and spread the word!

Technorati Tags: facebook, blog, petition, news+feed, mini+feed, feeds, social+networks, college, university, campus

These particular Web sites have come to my attention and we encouarge you to take a look at them to see what else you can do to help Save Facebook:

–>Stop it, Facebook!

–>A Day Without Facebook

If there are other Web sites out there, please let us know and we’ll update this post.

Technorati Tags: facebook, news+feed, mini+feed, feeds, social+networks, college, campus, student, university, protest, petition

Widespread outrage over new Facebook.com features
Students flock to sign petition for immediate change at popular social networking Web site

Media Contacts:
Kiyoshi Martinez: kiyoshimartinez@gmail.com
Jeremy Pelzer: jeremypelzer@gmail.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 6, 2006

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The recent addition of “news feeds” on the popular social networking Web site Facebook.com has sparked unprecedented outrage and concern among the site’s 9 million members.

Facebook.com is a private company that links people from more than 40,000 high schools, universities and companies.

On Sept. 5, Facebook.com administrators introduced “news feeds” and “mini feeds.” The feature shows up on every member’s page automatically, and lists most actions taken by each person’s friends on Facebook.com, including posts to third persons, relationship break-ups and newly added photos.

While all of the information listed on the news feed was accessible before the introduction of the news feed, there has been widespread discomfort and concern that people’s actions are being broadcast to their friends in such a blatant manner.

Hundreds of thousands of Facebook.com members have joined anti-news feed groups. An online petition started by University of Illinois – Springfield journalism students Kiyoshi Martinez and Jeremy Pelzer gathered more than 45,000 signatures within 24 hours of its creation. The petition can be seen at http://www.petitiononline.com/faceb00k/petition.html

“People now feel very uncomfortable interacting on Facebook with the addition of news feeds,” Pelzer said. “Stalkers can now keep tabs on a user’s intimate actions on Facebook. I can’t think of a time when our generation has been so vocal about a Web site.”

Users in the online community have expressed an interest in being able to set privacy settings for “news feeds,” much like they do already for other parts of their profiles.

“It’s about giving the Facebook community a choice,” Martinez said. “We’re not saying that Facebook has to completely get rid of the feeds, but they should provide options for users that will make them comfortable while using the Web site. I think we can meet halfway.”

For more information, visit www.savefacebook.com

###

UPDATE: WIRED now has a more formal story on the Facebook.com “feeds.”

WIRED.com’s Monkey Bites interviewed me earlier today. Check out the interview and a thanks to Michael Calore for blogging about this issue.

There’s been media requests from other mainstream and college newspaper outlets as well, and we’ll post those stories here once new stories on this topic go onilne. The message is spreading and we’ve just issued a press release that will hopefully draw more attention to the Facebook user community and their dissatisfaction with “feeds.”

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned. We’re planning a lot more content for SaveFacebook.com

Technorati Tags: Facebook, news+feed, mini+feed, feeds, social+network, WIRED, college, student, campus, university

The Wall Street Journal has done an article about the protests against Facebook.com’s “feeds.”

“We didn’t expect so much negative feedback,” Facebook spokeswoman Melanie Deitch said yesterday. “It’s a busy day over here.”

The new features do allow users to hide specific actions from specific users by changing certain privacy options. “I don’t believe there’s a privacy issue here,” Ms. Deitch said.

You can read the full article here.

A special thanks to Jamin Warren for contacting us and giving this story a voice.

Technorati Tags: Facebook, news+feed, mini+feed, feeds, Wall+Street+Journal, WSJ, college, students, university, campus, social+networks

Well, I went through Google News and rounded-up all the coverage that Facebook.com’s “feeds” have been generating. The MSM coverage is perhaps even greater, as the wire report stories from Bloomberg and Reuters are being picked up by other newspapers and Web sites. I also got an AIM message today telling me that CNBC mentioned the controversy as well.

We encourage you to send in letters to the editor and write to your local college newspapers about this issue. Make your voice heard!

Media coverage

College press coverage

Technorati Tags: facebook, news+feed, mini+feed, feeds, social+networks, campus, student, media, college, university, newspaper

I received this information in an AIM message and I thought I would pass it along to you. It’s a browser toolbar bookmarklet and it will let you kill your mini-feed with just the click of a button.

Check it out: Facebook News Feed Killer

Now, it will only kill your mini-feed, not the feeds of your friends that appear on your Home page. Still, I think it’s amazing that within two days, someone has already “hacked” Facebook. Kudos to the folks at AutoAdmit.

Technorati Tags: facebook, mini+feed, news+feed, feeds, social+networks, student, college, campus, university, feed+killer, bookmarklet, toolbar+button

The Associated Press’ latest story has an interview with Facebook.com creator Mark Zuckerberg, who for the first time gave users a glimmer of hope for upcoming changes to the “feeds”:

Facebook’s chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, said Thursday that privacy remains central to the site, but he acknowledged the company misstepped and “failed to communicate to our users actively what it actually meant for them.”

[…]

Zuckerberg said Facebook was working on giving users additional privacy options.

The safeguards, expected as early as Friday, would let users block from feeds entire categories - such as changes to the groups they belong to - while still allowing people to observe such changes by visiting the profile page. Before, a user had to remove items one at a time from their personal feeds.

That’s right folks, as soon as Friday we might be seeing some changes on Facbook.com’s “feeds” and be able to have choices when it comes to personal profile privacy options.

Folks, this is good news.

Technorati Tags: facebook, news+feed, mini+feed, feeds, petition, student, campus, university, college, social+networks, Mark+Zuckerberg, interview