I only recently got into using facebook, but have always been into Conspiracy Theories, so needless to say when I found a great linkage on Bifsniff to an article in the NZ Herald, about this particular social network being started by the CIA I was fascinated!
The dark side to the facebook success story, that’s been spreading across the blogosphere is the complex big Brother-type conspiracy theory which links Facebook to the CIA and the US DOD (Department of Defence).
Let’s be honest, Facebook is a great information gathering tool as data is voluntary (in some respects) and as superbly pointed out by Eoin at Bifsniff regarding Facebook’s policy document:
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 (eg. photo tags) in order to provide you with more useful information and a more personalised experience. By using Facebook, you are consenting to have your personal data transferred to and processed in the United States.
It depends on how much data you want made available Patrick!
Speaking for myself I’m certain more information could be gathered from my blog and website about me than on facebook