Shut Up & Social Network

I don't really get people sometimes. So, a facebook group was created called Petition: Facebook, stop invading my privacy! that basically takes Facebook to task for their privacy policies.

But if you read the wall on the group, there are many people berating the joiners for being concerned. It's all with the attitude, "if you don't like it, leave".

Here's one example from Adam Wolfson:

"No one likes having their privacy invaded, but at the same time, you ALL join facebook on your own volition, and ALL accept their terms of use. If you have an issue with this, take your account off line.. Then you won't have anyone ruining the surprise you were planning for Christmas. This is a free world and Facebook sets out the guidelines of use. When you accept, you must take the good with the bad. Grow up and stop crying about things you could easily avoid."

I watched the crowd sourcing talk at Mesh and this seemed to be the general theme for justification of anything on the Web. If you don't like it leave. If you don't like what Flikr does then don't use the service. If you don't like how google is tracking everyone, use a different search engine. If you don't like it, hell, don't go online! As if those companies have no culpability and no standards that they have to adhere to. But I don't think that's the case.

There are things like privacy laws and frankly, corporate social responsibility guidelines, as a means of ensuring companies, particularly those with a great deal of power (which we can say google and facebook certainly have at this point) to behave. And IMHO it's not only our right, but our obligation as citizens not to just OPT out, but to bring these issues to light in order to ensure a healthy debate for those who simply wouldn't other wise, know, hear or think about what is happening out there is the big bad and new world of digital communications and technology.

'Shut up and social network' is an oxymoron and I simply don't buy it.

update: good news privacy groups filing an FTC complaint against Facebook...