Facebook does it again

Facebook has altered their terms of service to make it possible for companies that pay the social media network to utilize Facebook users’ content and likeness without compensation or permission. The changes are sure to alienate Facebook’s users in the creative community, who make a living from licensing their work and content.

This new Terms of Service went into effect on Thursday, Sept. 5th, 2013.

http://pdnpulse.pdnonline.com/2013/09/facebook-makes-alarming-changes-to-terms-asmp-breaks-down-the-changes.html

[URL="http://asmp.org/fb-tos#.UikG0BbKjkchttp://asmp.org/fb-tos%23.UikG0BbKjkc"]http://asmp.org/fb-tos#.UikG0BbKjkchttp://asmp.org/fb-tos%23.UikG0BbKjkc

[URL]http://thedambook.com/the-other-shoe-dropping/[/URL][/URL]

​Most Facebook users gave up privacy and rights the instant they joined and few care. Facebook users are the product.

I have just deactivated my account.

Imagine when google glass comes to the masses. Privacy is from the stone age

And maybe one day if you don't put every fart on twitter or facebook, you're the one that is suspicious

guess I will be deactivating my business on there.

I have yet to understand people using Facebook.

Facebook post: Hey everyone, I just wiped my nose!

Facebook response(s): Like, Like, Like

Facebook post: Hey here is a picture of my goofy face from my cellphone.

Facebook notification: You have 10+ pedophile and sexual registrant friend requests from people you don't know to add to your other 547 "Friends" you don't actually know.

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I know there are other uses for it, but between their terms and the mind numbing of it all... I just don't get it. I would rather sit here and poke my eyeball for a while.

Of course it could be said I am doing the same thing here on this forum. Major difference, I actually learn and apply the knowledge gained here to improve my photography.

I keep my account because it's the only way to keep in touch with old buddies that I served in Viet Nam with and that's how I reconnected with them.
I post family pictures only and keep a very low profile, in other words I don't hit the like button for anything.

They are there to make money just like everyone else, that they give your rights up won't make a difference because nobody reads the licensing they blindly select OK because they wouldn't know what it meant if they did read it and a lot don't care.

The problem is with our society, used to be we knew our neighbors we got together and did things TOGETHER. Now when I go out and look at the way people interact they all have a GD smart phone or some other electronic device that they are starring into and absolutely oblivious to everyone and everything around them. As a for instance I took my daughter in law to a local state park for a bike ride and to take some photos and on the way back we stopped at a local seafood restaurant that I've been wanting to go and see what the food was like and a family of 4 came in; the mother and father where on-off smart phones, taking/making calls and I guess surfing cause they had there heads buried and both kids had I guess game boys or some kind of electronic device and had there heads buried in them. No social interaction, very little talk amongst themselves let alone anyone else around them.

Without Faceslap no one could/would be able to communicate, take away there smart phones and they couldn't exist they wouldn't know how to interact with other people enough to survive.

Facebook is a tool. It's all in how you use it. I keep my 'friend' list efficient and choose to not see posts from people who use if obnoxiously.

Tapp'n on the go

It's not that big of a deal, just be like pedroj and stick a watermark on your stuff! Lol.
But seriously, this is why I like to use watermarks.
People can already just download images off of facebook, this isn't a big jump.
Just put watermarks on your images and it won't be a big deal. No company wants a image with some little photographer's watermark.

As someone posted, Facebook can be an effective advertising tool when used for that purpose. Otherwise, its social media with no holds barred regarding privacy and users being the product. Data mining aside, my local newspaper ran an article on the police announcing how handy burglars find it to determine who's on vacation or absent from potential targets.

For photographers who sell their work a secured personal/business website is the only practical method of conveying information and product to customers.

There is a way around showing your pictures. I use smug mug and their right click protect. I then post pictures links on FB from smug mug. Takes a little longer. But, less chance of theft.

Semi-Pro_Clay said:

There is a way around showing your pictures. I use smug mug and their right click protect. I then post pictures links on FB from smug mug. Takes a little longer. But, less chance of theft.

Click to expand...

I'll remember that for the non-family related photos...thanks!

I stopped posting photos other than iPhone snapshots on FB a long time ago, to my chagrin and that of my friends and family. I now post links to Flickr photos when I reallyneed to share something, and watermark everything.

For me, FB served as a lifeline to friends and family all over the place when I was jetting back and forth across the country for work. It gave me a feeling of connectedness that would have been sorely missed. Now, it's a way to keep in touch with old friends. I don't use it the way I used to as a result of their evolution (de-evolution? evil-ution?), and it's a shame, but I get it. I'm more upset at the idea that the company so blatantly disregards personal copyrights than I am at the idea that some business associated with them would want to use my photo. I have yet to read the agreement, but I suspect it has more to do with using it in ways that tie the business site to FB and its users than it does with a snatch and grab of an image for any purpose at all, and I have far less an issue with that. But I'm not losing sleep either way.

Some of you are missing the point. This isn't just about photos. It's not about meaningless watermarks. Imagine this scenario:

You walk into a Starbucks to buy one of their yuppie lattes. The moment you cross the threshold into their store, you:

• can ​star in a television commercial without compensation or acknowledgement
• can have your face plastered all over billboards, again, without compensation or acknowledgement
• must hand over your phone's web browsing history
• must hand over your phone's contact list
• give them unlimited access to everything on your person, including your wallet

That is essentially what Facebook is doing. As long as you're signed up, they claim the rights to all your content and all of your account information. This has existed in their TOS for awhile now, but they offered limited protection via account settings. Those protections have just been lifted. If you think just posting a link to your stuff offers any kind of protection, you're wrong. That link is owned by Facebook too.

Personally, I despise Facebook. I'm not one of those people who wastes time on it, but I can't deny the power it offers for business. I can reach hundreds, even thousands of people per day and it costs me nothing. I can't afford that kind of advertising. Facebook is a large source of traffic to my website, and again, that has a very real affect on my bottom line. Facebook events/calendar are also a great way to book sessions.

This was posted in the business section because it has little effect on the average user. Most people don't care about any of this. Facebook has been collecting and making money from this information for a long time. They've tried this kind of broad-sweeping change before and the user outcry was so big, they've revised it 3 or 4 times now. This is just their latest effort. If you use Facebook for business, the effects impact all of your customers who use your business page, and that's a big deal.

I use Facebook because my children and their friends use Facebook. Ever since I sent a Facebook Friend request to my oldest daughter, she knows I'm watching, and watches what she does. I've questioned her on some of her posts, and she is now more "careful" about what she posts.

As far as photos, I posted a couple of them, but no more. Thanks for highlighting this.

​WM