Oliver del Signore, the webmaster and fellow blogger here at Backwoods Home, sent me the following.  Pay particular attention to the mention of the Brady bunch in this link:

http://dailycaller.com/2011/05/24/facebook-upgrade-spurs-fears-of-political-bias/

Now, I realize that an e-tard Luddite like me has no business discussing social networking sites.  But even I can see the chilling effect this development can have on civil rights groups, such as ours.

I’d like to hear all y’all’s take on it.

 

1 COMMENT

  1. I’m sure it’s nothing. Facebook rolls out upgrades like this gradually. I’m only a member of one group, named ‘Armed Polite Society,’ and that group got the upgrade last week.

    If they’re rolling out the upgrades with some sort of political bias to them, well, I’m not seeing it.

  2. You might check further into this. I read elsewhere that they were doing a total upgrade and it was just a schedule thing. I can’t swear to it as I have not looked into it myself but I think this might be getting blown out of proportion.

  3. This is when a person or group who is more conservative or politically neutral could start something similar to Facebook. It would not be easy, but may be possible with support from people like us who value political freedom, right or left.

  4. I’ve seen hunters groups slated for the round file. Also Christian groups, the anti federal health care people. I have not checked the Nikon camera group. We need the right of speech on Facebook, or find a different online social media.

  5. Yep. I use Facebook.

    Nope. I don’t trust them as far as I can throw Rosie O’Donnell. Which is not very far by the way.

    Not in the least bit surprised. And very skeptical.

  7. If I have the quote correct that is attributed to Ben Franklin…

    “Anyone who trades liberty for security deserves neither liberty nor security”

    Maybe the new version is something like…

    “Anyone who trades privacy for convenience deserves neither privacy nor convenience”

    Mas, Facebook is a private enterprise that so many willingly and continually give private information, words, interests, visuals, and imagery that would make and LEO or FBI profiler giddy with excitement…

    I don’t like the implications of the article you linked, but I’ve been suspicious of Facebook and many other online sites even before I went to a Google analytics seminar for my employer a couple years back.

    Also, Craigslist and Ebay banned sales and advertisements for firearms, so Gunbroker, Armslist and others filled the void. Until various “groups” are willing to do the same, you have to assume Facebook, Google, and others will influence their participants for various reasons (political or financial) to the extent of those participants’ willingness to remain ignorant or willing.

    Yes, I’m on Facebook. No, I’ve never posted a picture of myself on there, yet there are over 30 pictures of me with links to my name that others have posted. I’ve even seen your picture that others have taken and posted from various events you have attended.

    I realize I’m now discussing broader issues than Facebook, but they’re all related. I’ve seen users post their phone numbers, addresses, kids names, guns they own, cars they own, pics with their personal items and information in clear view… OPSEC has no meaning for 99.9% of us.

    Best,

    Dann in Ohio

  8. Mas,

    I think something is fishy in the story you got. A long time ago, FB invented a new kind of group, and recently, they forced everybody who had not switched over to do so. Several groups that I administer were forced to switch, but no “key” was involved.

    I did a Google search for “facebook group upgrade key,” and the results were very suspicious. Every single hit on the first page was basically a verbatim copy of the same story, and not a single site was a tech web site or anything like that. They were all political blog sites. This suggests to me that this is an “astroturfed” politically-motivated media campaign. I don’t think there is anything to it.

  10. I never signed up on facebook because I have no need to. People that matters knows how to reach me and I know how to reach them. I’m not surprised that facebook would be used for something other than it was ment to be used for. It seems to be the norm lately!

    I’ll stick with visiting Mas here, checking in on The High Road from time to time, and emailing those who I care about. I sure don’t need facebook to do it.

  11. “We need the right of speech on Facebook, or find a different online social media.”

    Move to TWITTER, no problems there!
    Or set up your own Web site – as the gay and lesbian backlash against Dr. Laura did.

  12. Personally, given their longstanding history of All Your Personal Data Are Belong To Us, I wouldn’t touch Facebook with a ten-foot pole in the first place. I don’t understand why so many people fall all over themselves to give their personal data to a company that they KNOW is going to sell it to anyone who asks for it. Facebook is the biggest personal-data leak on the ‘Net.

  13. Doesn’t really affect me – I dumped facebook about six months ago, having only been on it for a few months. As an individual, I didn’t like various company practices – they just ended up making me feel sleazy for associating with them. As a software engineer, I found their technical acumen lacking, their system design to be both nondeterministic and annoying, and their development process (as described in interviews) to be very unprofessional. As such, I didn’t want to use their software, nor did I want to entrust them with any personal information.

    My “social networking” is email lists, livejournal friends lists, RSS feeds for blogs, etc.

  14. If you check the facebook help page they explain it clearly. Groups have to be active to qualify. From what they say groups are supposed to be something like a forum. A two way form of communication.

    They say if a business is using it as a way to promote their stuff they are using it incorrectly that would be a “page” on facebook.

  15. Control information, and the exchange of information and you control percieved reality. Certainly, despots have done this in the past, and will do so again.

  16. “Fears of political bias” sure sounds like it. Think it has any thing to do with “net neutrality”?

  18. Facebook does lean Left. Contributions tell the tale. Whether or not the less liberal groups will be targeted for elimination or harassment remains to be seen. Once thing is certain; Facebook will make more money (and probably exert stronger control) with this new scheme. There remain other, perhaps less sophisticated forums/user groups outside of Facebook that I will continue to use instead.

  19. Zuckerburg is a Marxist–of course he will use F.B. to push his Marxist agenda–the agenda of the Marxist Democrat party–and shut out groups who oppose Marxism!

  20. Possibly a gimmick to generate publicity or controversy. Once again Facebook is on the front pages and growing. I’ll also wait and see were this goes. It may be a non-event.

  21. President Obama’s ex-spokesman (Robert Gibbs) was hired by Facebook – that automatically throws a red flag, as far as I’m concerned concerning their political direction. On the other hand, most of the time, they are pretty inept when it comes down to doing anything thay say they want to accomplish.

  22. I don’t really go for that stuff. But the net has always been left leaning. Online it’s cool to hate Bush but if you criticize Obama, you’re racist.

    Not too long ago Google stopped allowing SIRT’s makers to use Google’s Check out because Google doesn’t support the sale of weapons etc. Unfortunately, SIRT’s announcement about that isn’t up anymore.

    But before everyone says lasers aren’t weapons, I refer you to California’s penal code:

    Threatening Acts With a Laser Scope
    A laser scope is a portable battery-powered device capable of being attached to a firearm and
    projecting a laser light on objects at a distance. It is a misdemeanor to knowingly draw or exhibit
    a laser scope that projects a colored target on a person in a threatening manner, except in self-
    defense. (Penal Code § 417.25.)

    Now I can understand if the laser is on an actual weapon but that doesn’t seem to be an actual requirement here. Only in California…

    Wonder what would happen if you put a “laser scope” on a SIRT….

  23. If you must be given a ‘key’ to make a political statement, then your First Amendment rights are nullified on FB- it’s not worth your time wasted (Full Disclosure: I’m not on facebook, will never be and can’t open any pages/profiles on it, either- or want to.)
    Last week Blogger was having some changes made and every site I vist that contains anti-Usurper content was unloadable (which includes tis site) while more ‘mundane’ sites were readily opened. The time is coming to get off Blogger and go to Word Press or other non-controlling site that will take a bit longer to surrender our First or Second Amendment rights.
    Like his gun control issues, the Usurper is making inroads into the blogosphere to control everything we say and what we can own, all through Executive Order and czars.
    So the whole issue begs the question, ‘Is FB being controlled by the regime?’ Well, DUH!
    Shy III

  24. The most enlightening thing I saw was the Brady Campaign’s 1000 members. Ha, what a joke. If that is true we should flood the internet with posts so it comes up in every search engine. No wonder Helmke grimaces.

  25. I am with Ray Hill, there going to do what they want as long as we let them, so if were not going to do anything about it lets find another media

  26. non-event

    Anyone in a group can request it be updated to the new format, there is no “key” needed.

    Sufficient to the day…

  27. They already have words that aren’t allowed and will censor you for them.

    I usually get a entry disappearing 2-3 times a week (or more)

  28. Heard this once on a Sunday morning talk show by a newspaper publisher – and I’m paraphrasing…..

    “You have the right to say what’s on your mind. I have the right to publish what I feel is relevant. However I do not feel I have to make your opinion(s) public. If you wish to be heard, you have the right to start your own newspaper.”

  29. Here’s the deal. If groups don’t have lots of chatter from lots of members, the upgrade button is absent.

    The way you can fix this, is get some new people to join the group, and have them post some messages. I have a group with 120 people in it, and I was able to get the upgrade button by adding one new member, and having her post one message.

    If you have a larger number of members, probably more activity is needed.