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October 7, 2008 11:19:34 PM CDT

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Stories related to: Beacon

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12 Stories

  • March 2008

    • After Beacon 'Screw Up' Facebook Ups Privacy

      PC World  |  Mar 19, 08 1:18 PM CDT

      After Beacon 'Screw Up' Facebook Ups Privacy

      (Newser) - Facebook is launching a series of new privacy features today, allowing users to better pinpoint who can see which parts of their information, PC World reports. Privacy has been a watchword at Facebook ever since the PR disaster that was the Beacon advertising platform, which tracked users online. “With Beacon, we just screwed it up,” one VP admitted. More »

      Tags

      Facebook  • online privacy  • instant messaging  • Beacon  • chat room  • privacy settings

    • Facebook to Users: Sell Stuff, Get Paid

      Associated Press  |  Mar 13, 08 4:31 PM CDT

      Facebook to Users: Sell Stuff, Get Paid

      (Newser) - Facebook has rolled out a new service that encourages users to recommend products to their friends and make a little money in the process, AP reports. Called Market Lodge, the program allows users to set up personal stores on their Facebook pages and hawk a variety of products from a chosen list. Merchants handle any sales, but users make a 10% commission on each. More »

      Tags

      Facebook  • social networking  • online advertising  • Beacon  • Internet sales

  • February 2008

    • Facebook Fixes Problems With Its 'Delete' Button

      New York Times  |  Feb 18, 08 11:05 AM CST

      Facebook Fixes Problems With Its 'Delete' Button

      (Newser) - Making a profile on Facebook is easy, but before this weekend, deleting one wasn't: Not even Facebook could do it, the New York Times reports. Frustrated users filled out a form intended to delete their profiles but found bits of info still accessible on the site. Facebook says it has solved the problem, and profiles can be completely erased. More »

      Tags

      Internet  • Facebook  • social networking  • online privacy  • Beacon

    • This Way Out? Not Really

      New York Times  |  Feb 11, 08 11:35 AM CST

      This Way Out? Not Really

      (Newser) - Just when you think you're out, Facebook pulls you back in, say wannabe ex-users who have tried in vain to delete their profiles. The site keeps archives of all profiles, unless they're manually deleted piece by piece, fanning privacy concerns already stoked by the Beacon fiasco. “It’s like the Hotel California,” one unwilling member told the New York Times . “You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.” More »

      Tags

      Facebook  • social networking  • online privacy  • Beacon

  • January 2008
  • December 2007

    • Facebook CEO Apologizes for Ad System

      Wall Street Journal  |  Dec 5, 07 5:07 PM CST

      Facebook CEO Apologizes for Ad System

      (Newser) - Facebook CEO's apologized today for the company's new advertising system and told users they can disable it, the Wall Street Journal reports. The system, which tracks users' web activities, raised a firestorm of complaints over privacy concerns. "We've made a lot of mistakes building this feature, but we've made even more with how we've handled them," Mark Zuckerberg wrote on the company's blog. More »

      Tags

      Facebook  • Mark Zuckerberg  • Beacon

    • Beacon Does Track Users Who Log Off: Facebook

      PC World  |  Dec 3, 07 8:21 PM CST

      Beacon Does Track Users Who Log Off: Facebook

      (Newser) - Facebook has admitted that its Beacon ad system is tracking users even when they've logged off the site, PC World reports. Even those who opt out of the system that broadcasts activities to friends are being monitored. The company's email announcement reverses earlier denials and will likely stoke criticisms of the system by privacy advocates. More »

      Tags

      Facebook  • online privacy  • Beacon  • MoveOn.org

  • November 2007

    • $$$ Thrown at Buzz Drive Facebook's Beacon Plans

      Ars Technica  |  Nov 30, 07 11:42 AM CST

      $$$ Thrown at Buzz Drive Facebook's Beacon Plans

      (Newser) - Facebook's efforts to fix its Beacon system show that talk isn't cheap, as marketers increasingly are finding it’s a great way to spread the word about their product. Word-of-mouth advertising has taken off, with nearly $981 million being spent on campaigns last year, a 36% increase from 2005, reports Ars Technica. Companies are now integrating WoM into every campaign. More »

      Tags

      Facebook  • social networking  • advertising  • Beacon  • buzz

    • Facebook Backs Off Beacon

      Washington Post  |  Nov 30, 07 6:36 AM CST

      Facebook Backs Off Beacon

      (Newser) - Facebook has watered down its unpopular Beacon ad platform, which "shared" information about users' online shopping habits with everyone in their Facebook network—without their permission. Now, instead of making users opt out every time they make a purchase if they don't want it to be broadcast, Facebook will only broadcast the transaction if user click "ok."  More »

      Tags

      Facebook  • social networking  • advertising  • online advertising  • Mark Zuckerberg  • Beacon

    • Backlash Forces Facebook to Retool Beacon

      BusinessWeek  |  Nov 29, 07 7:54 AM CST

      Backlash Forces Facebook to Retool Beacon

      (Newser) - Facebook execs are pondering changes to the unpopular Beacon advertising platform after massively negative feedback, reports Business Week, and an announcement on "evolving" it could come as soon as today. Users are threatening mutiny over the tool, less than a month old, that tells their friends all about their purchases from other sites—a service many view as an invasion of privacy. More »

      Tags

      Facebook  • social networking  • Mark Zuckerberg  • Beacon

    • Facebook Fights Anti-Privacy Charges

      CNET  |  Nov 21, 07 11:45 AM CST

      Facebook Fights Anti-Privacy Charges

      (Newser) - Facebook jumped to the defense of its new social advertising program yesterday, under attack by a MoveOn campaign. MoveOn calls the program a “massive privacy breach,” but Facebook says that misrepresents Beacon, which does not make information "public." "Information is shared with a small selection of a user's trusted network of friends, not publicly on the Web or with all Facebook users,"  the company said. More »

      Tags

      Facebook  • social networking  • advertising  • online advertising  • Beacon  • MoveOn.org

    • Facebook is Grinch Stealing X-mas: MoveOn

      CNET  |  Nov 20, 07 8:30 PM CST

      Facebook is Grinch Stealing X-mas: MoveOn

      (Newser) - MoveOn.org plans to campaign against Facebook's "Beacon" ads, and do it on the social networking site's own turf, News.com reports. MoveOn promises an ad drive, a protest group, and an online petition over the advertisements—which post information about users' purchases on friends' news feeds. MoveOn calls the ads a “glaring violation of users’ privacy.” More »

      Tags

      Facebook  • online privacy  • Beacon  • MoveOn  • online activism

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