Beacon gets the Boot
by TomToronto
A lot has been written lately about Facebook‘s Beacon, most of it negative. In a nutshell, Beacon is a new “feature” of Facebook that would broadcast your online purchases from various retailers in your fb status feed. This would be viewable by all your friends. Did I mention it did this without your knowledge or consent? Naturally, there was a blogging uproar. Most notable of all posts came from Charlene Li, after buying a coffee table, and a comment by Will who had his engagement ring purchase broadcast to all his friends.
Well, it’s all over. Check out the story on the Toronto Star. Facebook users now have to opt in before their purchases hit the big time. Personally, I don’t expect a lot of people to click “allow.”
Choice quote of the day comes from Paul Janzer representing Facebook who said “We’re sorry if we spoiled some of your holiday gift-giving plans.” It sounds like Mark Zuckerberg has been playing the part of the Grinch this year.
What I really enjoy about this whole story is the strength of the people involved, and the power wielded by the community. A lot of individuals made their voices heard, on blogs and elsewhere, and it made a difference. A company valued at $15 billion completely changed its marketing plan because of these individuals. That is social media at its finest, what the internet and communication technologies are really about. Kudos to Zuckerberg and Facebook for listening to its clientele, taking action, and knowing when to admit it made a mistake.
Sounds like a great Social Media Christmas story, doesn’t it?