Just before the weekend Scott Gilbertson made a post on wired blog network about Facebook, Google and your data. Social-Network-Sites are getting more popular, growing in number almost daily and in fact receive more traffic than Google, it is time to have a good look at these sites.
Do you really know what happens to your data?

Who is in control? It's not you! Take facebook. Have you read the terms of service (TOS) as you agreed and joint them? I guess not, to be honest neither have I. More interesting to read is the developer TOS, here an extract taken from Scott's wired blog post:

"You may not store any Facebook Properties in any Data Repository which enables any third party (other than the Applicable Facebook User for such Facebook Properties) to access or share the Facebook Properties without our prior written consent."

In plain English and I quote Scott's post again:

"In other words, once a user has entered something in Facebook — a list of friends, a blog post, a status update, etc — it's effectively stuck in Facebook, since developers are not allowed to store that information outside of Facebook."

Facebook is in control of your data and you are only allowed to do with your data what facebook likes. Take the new service from Google. If you like Google to store your data from Facebook in the new Friend Connect service, it is not possible, because Google's new service is banned.

Don't get me wrong. It's not about good and bad, black or white. It is about choice - your choice.
The Social Network Sites have to protect, but not limit your choices. It is you who bares resposebility over the data you entered - It should be you who decides what will happen to that data.

What are your thoughts and comments? Please add your view in the Post a comment section using text, voice and/ or video

Technorati Tags: Also in the News Social Network WhoWhatWhy? data portability Facebook Friend Connect Google Web 2.0