via tech.thepete.com: the reality about how you are a supplier, not a customer to Facebook and other sites.

“ Zuckerberg needs your data. His business is built upon it. The most important thing to understand about Facebook is that you are not Facebook’s customer, you are its inventory. You are the product Facebook is selling. Facebook’s real customers are advertisers. You, as a Facebook member, are useful only because you can be packaged up and sold to advertisers. The more information Facebook can get from you, the more you are worth. In response, a FB spokesman told me: “I’m sorry you feel that way. ”

—

Lyons, on Facebook (via newsweek)

But isn’t this the same with any ad-supported service? MySpace? GMail? Etc?  Hell, even advertising on the old TV is built this way. It’s our behavior that is the product.

All that said, I wonder if most people understand this dynamic.  No one is getting “free hosting services” for their pics and status updates—they are getting hosting services in exchange for their pics and status updates.  Maybe not the literal content, but the behavior patterns behind the content is sold to advertisers.  How else are these sites supposed to remain “free”?

via tech.thepete.com

The fact that this doesn't creep out more people creeps me out. It's like we're all mice in a maze in some lab some place. We've got big brother only he's corporate, not governmental. That's where Orwell got it wrong.

"FACEBOOK PROFITS ARE MADE OF PEOPLE!"

Posted via web from thepete's posterous