760: on wong

This was interesting and a little scary. The FB employee stated that there is this need to delete data because of space and performance issues, but goes on to note they’re snapping data multiple times a day and basically moving it out of the production environment. That still means the data is retained and accessible (and hackable).

And this is just to my point earlier -- people don't get it. They don't know what they're doing out there."...it’s all stored in a database on the backend. Literally everything. Your messages are stored in a database, whether deleted or not. So we can just query the database, and easily look at it without every logging into your account. That’s what most people don’t understand... We track everything. Every photo you view, every person you’re tagged with, every wall-post you make, and so forth."

And again to the point about technology shaping the issue, not end-users: "With Web 2.0, 3.0, where the model is basically get as much information out there as you can. Obviously, someone needs to step back and make sure there is some information privacy here, or at least as much as we can put in place."

So I'm thinking this isn't as complicated an algorithm as it sounds."It’s also messages, file posts, photos you’re tagged in with them, as well as your viewing of their profile and all of that. Essentially, we judge how good of a friend they are to you." Or maybe it is complicated. I hate these computer-geek stereotypes, but this is just funny: "You just can’t talk to these people on a normal level. If you wanted to talk about basketball, talk about graph theory. Then he’d get it. And there are a lot of people like that. But by golly, they can do their jobs."

The ease at which the employee could make altruistic claims of responding to the Iranian crisis in the same breath as talking about global market share and revenue was telling. Iran is a market for Facebook, not a community of people struggling to find global communication channels through which they express free and unfettered political views.

And finally, and most fantastically: "Hence I was able to ditch work, come have two pitchers with you, and I will literally be able to go back and get my work done." Does anyone else see a problem here? Booze Bag Jane goes back to work half-lit with access to 350 million profiles and every iota of data ever captured by FB.