Facebook to Eliminate Regional Networks, Revamp Privacy Controls

Posted 12/02/2009 at 1:25pm | by Bart Salisbury

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Facebook was born upon the idea of people networking. Initial Facebook networks were obvious ones: your school, your community, your country. A bit crude, but easily established and, initially, allowing a modicum of privacy. But, as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg notes in an open letter to Facebook users, networks have gotten way out of hand. The solution, according to Zuckerberg--get rid of them.

Regional networks are Zuckerberg’s target, and legitimately so. Regional networks have grown to include millions of members. So much for the intimacy initially offered by Facebook. Instead of automatically sharing with a couple hundred people in a network, you share with a couple million.

Zuckerberg says that Facebook will replace networks with greater individual control over who sees your Facebook content. These new privacy controls will allow greater ability to define who family and friends are. They’ll also allow users to control access to bits-and-pieces of their Facebook entries. This will let Facebook users revive the intimacy of their connections, making the social networks they create more meaningful to them.

As the new privacy settings are implemented, Zuckerberg says, users will be notified and asked to review their privacy settings. The changes are scheduled to take place over the next few weeks.

Image Credit: Facebook