Why Facebook is scarier than Google

While the blogosphere acknowledged a 24 hour Facebook time out for air, the new wave of Facebook frenzy doubles down on the first; Facebook adoration intensifies and thickens, literally.

What's more, Facebook founder, 23 year old Mark Zuckerberg, himself, is now accorded world hero status, much like YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley has become accustomed to. Zuckerberg has not reaped hundreds of millions of dollars from a Website started on a whim, as Hurley has; Nevertheless, Zuckerberg's every move, article of clothing and statement uttered is being feted and celebrated.

The latest Zuckerberg worship, courtesy of Paul Allen, in a love letter to Facebook, and Zuckerberg: "Facebook will be the largest social network in the world":

"I saw history in the making today. For some reason, I was lucky enough to be in San Francisco for the Facebook f8 Platform launch event. This announcement was at least an 8.0 on the Richter scale. It was a whopper. Facebook will reach 50 million, then 100 million, then 200 million users, and beyond.I like Mark Zuckerberg a lot.He was very genuine. I can see him in 10 years with the influence of the Google founders and in 20 years with the influence of Bill Gates. He is just getting started. Can you imagine in a couple years when Facebook has 200 million users worldwide, with half of them logging in every day, and a 25 year old will be CEO of this company? I can’t think of a parallel in world history where someone this young had this much influence.

Oh wait. Alexander the Great."

Yes, YouTube's Chad Hurley is deemed to be an Internet King and Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg is the next Alexander the Great.

While Facebook love manifests more and more, some love letters manage to provide SOME context, acknowledging possible shortcomings even while reaffirming the seemingly forgone conclusion that Facebook WILL be the Web, get used to it.

Fred Wilson on "The open Facebook: "I don't yet see my social network at Facebook interacting much in these applications. Maybe I've chosen the wrong ones to install. My Facebok social net will be notified via the mini-feed that I've added these apps to my profile, but beyond that what happens?There's a chance that someday, Facebook will be the preferred place to read this blog because of all the social apps that will be built around it. You can already read this blog at Facebook but few people, if any, do that currently.

Mark Zuckerberg says he wants Facebook to be the social operating system of the web. That's a grand ambition. But I like it. Because its something Google isn't and is never going to be. At this point, nobody is closer to that vision than Facebook"

Facebook the next Google? Why wouldn't the "conversation" be about move over Google, Yahoo, Craigslist.... Facebook is on the move, when Mark Zuckerberg & Company have unleashed a tidal wave of masterful PR spin on what Facebook is--the future--and on what Facebook is not--MySpace.

At Facebook's coming out party, Zuckerberg quipped Google here we come:

"We're the sixth most trafficked site in the U.S. and we can't seem to get our act together," Zuckerberg joked as he fumbled to synchronize his presentation slides, which were in disarray. After laughs from the crowd, he regained his composure and added, "We recently passed eBay in traffic and we're working on passing Google, too," according to AP reports.

Allen, on why his Facebook love is on track to trump his Google love:

"When Facebook has 100 million users, in the not too distant future, having the ability to develop an App in their system will almost be like being able to get a link on Google’s own home page.Can you imagine Google ever doing that? No way. They have too much at stake. Their $147 billion market cap couldn’t take it. Google’s philosophy was to not be evil. But I think Facebook’s philosophy is a decade fresher and even more in line with where things need to go than even Google–a company that I admire more than any other."

Facebook the next Google? YES, but NOT in a GOOD way!While the blogosphere is cheering for Zuckerberg to take over the Web, sooner rather than later, the consequences of such a takeover are neglected.

Why should ANY one company rule the Web? Why would it be a good thing for a for-profit corporation's closed Web-based application to achieve worldwide Internet domination?

SEE: MySpace: 179 million times more open than Facebook

Facebook IS already another Google, in fact, seeking to control, for-its own-corporations' profit motives, all the world's personal information.

It is very telling that on the exact moment that Zuckerberg was on stage ("sporting a fleece jacket, baggy jeans and flip-flops," as those reporters "lucky enough" to be in the Zuckerberg audience that fateful day have thankfully informed the public), his corporation posted a Privacy Policy, "Effective May 24, 2007.

Below are excerpts of the Facebook Privacy Policy:

THE INFORMATION FACEBOOK COLLECTS

When you visit Facebook you provide us with two types of information: personal information you knowingly choose to disclose that is collected by us and Web Site use information collected by us as you interact with our Web Site.

When you register with Facebook, you provide us with certain personal information, such as your name, your email address, your telephone number, your address, your gender, schools attended and any other personal or preference information that you provide to us.

You post User Content on the Site at your own risk. Although we allow you to set privacy options that limit access to your pages, please be aware that no security measures are perfect or impenetrable. We cannot control the actions of other Users with whom you may choose to share your pages and information. Therefore, we cannot and do not guarantee that User Content you post on the Site will not be viewed by unauthorized persons. We are not responsible for circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures contained on the Site. You understand and acknowledge that, even after removal, copies of User Content may remain viewable in cached and archived pages or if other Users have copied or stored your User Content.

Facebook may also collect information about you from other sources, such as newspapers, blogs, instant messaging services, and other users of the Facebook service through the operation of the service (e.g., photo tags) in order to provide you with more useful information and a more personalized experience.

USE OF INFORMATION OBTAINED BY FACEBOOK

By using Facebook, you are consenting to have your personal data transferred to and processed in the United States.

Facebook may use information in your profile without identifying you as an individual to third parties. We do this for purposes such as aggregating how many people in a network like a band or movie and personalizing advertisements and promotions so that we can provide you Facebook. We believe this benefits you. You can know more about the world around you and, where there are advertisements, they're more likely to be interesting to you. For example, if you put a favorite movie in your profile, we might serve you an advertisement highlighting a screening of a similar one in your town. But we don't tell the movie company who you are.

We may use information about you that we collect from other sources, including but not limited to newspapers and Internet sources such as blogs, instant messaging services, Facebook Platform developers and other users of Facebook, to supplement your profile. Where such information is used, we generally allow you to specify in your privacy settings that you do not want this to be done or to take other actions that limit the connection of this information to your profile (e.g., removing photo tag links).

FACEBOOK SHARING OF USER INFORMATION WITH THIRD PARTIES

We may provide information to service providers to help us bring you the services we offer. Specifically, we may use third parties to facilitate our business, such as to host the service at a co-location facility for servers, to send out email updates about Facebook, to remove repetitive information from our user lists, to process payments for products or services, to offer an online job application process, or to provide search results or links (including sponsored links). In connection with these offerings and business operations, our service providers may have access to your personal information for use for a limited time in connection with these business activities. Where we utilize third parties for the processing of any personal information, we implement reasonable contractual and technical protections limiting the use of that information to the Facebook-specified purposes.

THIRD PARTY APPLICATION PROVIDERS USE OF FACEBOOK USER INFORMATION

Before allowing any Platform Developer to make any Platform Application available to you, Facebook requires the Platform Developer to enter into an agreement which, among other things, requires them to respect your privacy settings and strictly limits their collection, use, and storage of your information. However, while we have undertaken contractual and technical steps to restrict possible misuse of such information by such Platform Developers, we of course cannot and do not guarantee that all Platform Developers will abide by such agreements. Please note that Facebook does not screen or approve Platform Developers and cannot control how such Platform Developers use any personal information that they may obtain in connection with Platform Applications. In addition, Platform Developers may require you to sign up to their own terms of service, privacy policies or other policies, which may give them additional rights or impose additional obligations on you.

REMOVING USER INFORMATION AT FACEBOOK

Individuals who wish to deactivate their Facebook account may do so on the My Account page. Removed information may persist in backup copies for a reasonable period of time but will not be generally available to members of Facebook.

Where you make use of the communication features of the service to share information with other individuals on Facebook, however, (e.g., sending a personal message to another Facebook user) you generally cannot remove such communications.

WHY FACEBOOK IS SCARIER THAN GOOGLEEach Facebook user knowingly and willingly provides an interested corporation with the intimate details of their daily personal and professional lives to enable persistent data records for the unique data mining profit advantage of the corporation.

Because Facebook as "Big Brother" is consensual, there is no redress.

ALSO: Facebook to users, developers: Facebook RULES, really

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