The day I stopped defending Facebook

Dave

Facebook, as you know, has gotten a lot of grief in the past for the way it treats users’ privacy. Seemingly every few months, they make some change that has users up in arms because more of their information is exposed.

I understand why people get upset, but at the same time, most people who use Facebook every day don’t take the time to learn how it works under the hood, even when there are hundreds of posts online that explain in simple terms how to manage your privacy settings. If you opt in to use a free service that provides a lot of value to you, is it too much to ask that you put in a little effort to understand it?

That attitude went out the window today, thanks to the new Facebook Groups feature. This article in PCWorld does a good job of laying out the problem “and the prank Michael Arrington of TechCrunch pulled on Mark Zuckerberg that clearly shows one of the fatal flaws”. Essentially, anyone can create a Facebook Group and add anyone else to the group. You then start getting emails any time anyone posts to the group. If you don’t want that, you have to go and opt out.

Someone I know, although not very well, added me to a group this morning. By mid-afternoon, my inbox had more than ten emails telling me that other people had posted in the group. Who do you know who is eager to get more email, especially without their knowledge and possibly against their will?

Yes, I can go in and turn it off, and I did. And just like everything else with Facebook, it took me a long time to find that control, and I’m not entirely sure it did what I think it was supposed to do.

And if you go to that group’s page, I’m listed as one of the members, even though I didn’t actually join it. So, as we saw from the Arrington – Zuckerberg prank, I could go create a group called “Kitten-Hating Devil Worshippers Against Springtime” and add you to it. You’d show up as a member, and get an email whenever another member posted about how the sight of a flower in bloom makes them want to punch a tabby.

“If you now feel you need to go and create that group and add me to it, I’ll understand.”

Imagine what this has been like for the big name social media folks. I wonder how many groups Chris Brogan, Scott Stratten, Amber Naslund, David Armano, Brian Solis et al have been added to?

I wrote a while ago that Facebook needed a business board of advisors to help it make better decisions about its functions that affect the way Facebook is used by companies. I still think that’s a good idea.

But now I think they just need some people with common sense.

Is there a way to mark an item “to do” inside an @evernote note and have it populated to a master to do list?

Dave

I use Evernote for keeping notes during calls and meetings. Often something comes up that I want to add to my to do list, and I write it this way in my note:

*TODO: Send an email to Clint Flamblemast re pumpkin rodeo

Then at the end of the call, I transfer all those to dos to my master to do list. I can also search “*TODO” and find all the notes with “todo” in them. 

What I want, though, is for that to somehow happen automatically, so that something noted as a to do item gets automatically populated to a master to do list.

Is there a way to do that? I’m happy to change my taxonomy or procedures.

Posted via email from David B. Thomas

If you had told me this 10 years ago…

Dave

We went to a toddler party this morning and a librarian party this afternoon. As we drove gratefully down our street heading for home, we saw people parking on our street and walking up to our neighbors’ doors. I realized that it was only 7:30, a perfectly normal time for normal people to begin parties, and also a time that some of the people I used to party with took their pre-partying Saturday evening naps.

I think I’m going to lie down, but not so I can get up at 11:00.

You might unfriend me after you read this.

Dave
Colin and Ramsay

I’m taking a risk here, but it’s necessary. I realize I am crossing a line. I try to keep my social media presence friendly, informative and funny when I can. In the last few weeks, you’ve seen a lot of posts from me that have been more serious and not at all funny. If you’ve been following me here, on Facebook and on Twitter, you know I’m talking about the effort to Help Bring Noor and Ramsay Home.

I need you to do more.

Click on this page. Click “like”: http://bit.ly/noor-ramsay

If you know the story, skip this paragraph. My friend “and now my boss” Colin Bower had sole custody of his two sons Noor and Ramsay. His ex-wife kidnapped them and took them to Egypt more than a year ago. He has not seen them since. The only thing that can help at this point seems to be public pressure on the US and Egyptian governments. And in this day and age, the best way to do that is on the Internet.

We have been told that the State Department is watching the Facebook page and gauging public interest by the number of “likes.” The more people who click the “like” button, the better chance Colin has of seeing his sons again.

Click on this page. Click “like”: http://bit.ly/noor-ramsay

Have you gone to the page and clicked “like”? Have you shared it with your friends, told people about it, even clicked “Share” to post it to your Facebook wall? Many of you have. I notice and I genuinely appreciate it.

I see posts from my friends today promoting their blogs, their bands, sharing music videos and encouraging their friends to support restaurants and food trucks and other causes. That’s fine; I do that stuff too. But can you please spend five minutes to help Colin see his sons again?

Click on this page. Click “like”: http://bit.ly/noor-ramsay

If you’ve seen my appeals and those of many others and you haven’t done it yet, respond here and let me know why, or email me privately at dave at dbthomas dot com and tell me why. If there’s something holding you back — technological reasons, you’re not on Facebook, you’re not sure you want to commit before you know all the facts, whatever — let me know.

Maybe you are concerned about the facts. Understandable, considering all you know is what you’ve read online. But know this: I’m not. I know Colin, I’ve seen how he’s conducted himself through much of this ordeal. I’ve read what his old and close friends have said about him. I’ve met Noor and Ramsay’s grandfather.

If that isn’t enough, then think of it this way: more attention on the issue will at least help resolve it, which is best for the boys.

Click on this page. Click “like”: http://bit.ly/noor-ramsay

I can look and see that 80 of my 541 Facebook friends have liked the page. Have you?

Click on this page. Click “like”: http://bit.ly/noor-ramsay

PLEASE do it now. If you’re tired of hearing me talk about this, imagine what Colin is going through, spending more than a year wondering if his sons are alive, what they are being told about him and wondering if he’ll ever see them again.

If that doesn’t move you to click “like,” then go ahead and unfriend me now, because I’m not going to stop talking about this until Colin is with his boys.

Click on this page. Click “like”: http://bit.ly/noor-ramsay

Go to the bottom of the left column. Click “share.” Post it to your own Facebook page. Ask your friends to like the page.

Thank you very much.

You can help my friend Colin see his sons again

Dave

My friend “and soon to be colleague” Colin Bower is going through one of the most difficult ordeals I can imagine as a parent. His sons, Noor and Ramsay, were kidnapped by their mother a year ago and taken to Egypt. Colin, who won sole custody of the children in the divorce, has had no contact with his sons since they left the U.S., despite having made many trips to Egypt.

Colin’s ex-wife’s friends and family have refused to return his calls. An Egyptian court has granted him visitation, but when he traveled to Egypt to see them, he waited in a park for seven hours and they never turned up.

Colin is a strong and private man, and I know how difficult it is for him to be discussing this in public. But he’s also a devoted father who wants his sons back more than anything on Earth, and he knows that drawing attention to this issue is the best way to make that happen.

You can help by going to the Facebook page Help Bring Noor and Ramsay Home, and clicking “like.” The more people who do that, the more attention that we draw to this issue, the better the chances that all of the people and agencies involved will do the right thing. There are a few other ways suggested on the page that you can help as well.

Last year, Colin was in town and I gave him a ride to the airport. First, we picked up The Boy at daycare, and he rode with us. Colin and Conrad discussed Conrad’s favorite thing at the time, the cartoon show “Caillou,” about a little Canadian boy. Conrad was very excited to find that Colin was a fan as well. Colin told Conrad he used to watch Caillou with Noor and Ramsay. I could tell the conversation was difficult for him.

After I dropped Colin off at the airport, Conrad and I were driving home and he couldn’t stop talking about Colin. Finally he said, “Colin fly on a airplane. He like Caillou. He a good man.”

He is a good man. And a good father. Help him see his sons again.