The Defenestration of Facebook

It wasn't so long ago that the company's founder, Mark Zuckerberg, set off a modest member rebellion by introducing Facebook's News Feed service, which automatically sends reports on members' activities to their networks of friends. After a burst of criticism, Zuckerberg offered an apology and gave members the ability to control what went into their feeds.

You'd think that experience might have led Zuckerberg to think twice before making a big to-do about unveiling Social Ads and Beacon. But I think Zuckerberg learned a very different lesson from the News Feed experience. After all, the News Feeds didn't go away, and Zuckerberg actually scored some goodwill points with his apology. I think what Zuckerberg learned was this: If you're going to push the privacy limit, then push it as far as you can. If users get upset, take a tiny step backwards and point to that tiny step as evidence that you've "listened to the community." If you go through this three-steps-forward-one-step-back routine enough times, you'll be able to get everything you want while your users will be able to maintain the illusion that they're in control.

Privacy is lost not in one great flood but rather through steady erosion. Eventually, the Peeping Tom taps on your window and waves, and you don't recoil in horror and embarrassment. You wave back.