viernes, abril 04, 2008

Proyecto para Facebook

Todos conocemos a Facebook, el sitio web de redes sociales, uno de los más visitados de Internet. Al final del 2005, se le presentó a la empresa donde trabajo una oportunidad para realizar un proyecto para el control de tráfico y operaciones de Facebook. Mi participación en la estimación fue mínima, solo ayudé a redactar la propuesta en Ingles.

Lamentablemente no llegamos a llevar a cabo el proyecto, debido a que existía una relación con el gobierno de los Estados Unidos, y ningún proyecto que tenga que ver con el gobierno se puede hacer afuera (offshore) debido a leyes que lo impiden.


Sobre la relación con el gobierno de los Estados Unidos se puede leer lo siguiente en wikipedia:

Privacy

There have been concerns expressed regarding the use of Facebook as a means of surveillance and data mining. Theories have been written about the possible misuse of Facebook, and privacy proponents have criticized the site's current privacy agreement. The policy states "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 and other users of Facebook, to supplement your profile." Facebook has assured users that the next privacy policy will not include the clause about information collection, and has denied that any data mining is being done "for the CIA or any other group." However, the possibility of data mining by private individuals unaffiliated with Facebook remains open, as evidenced by the fact that two MIT students were able to download over 70,000 Facebook profiles from four schools (MIT, NYU, the University of Oklahoma, and Harvard) using an automated script, as part of a research project on Facebook privacy published on December 14, 2005. A second clause that received criticism regards Facebook's right to sell users' data to private companies, stating "We may share your information with third parties, including responsible companies with which we have a relationship." This concern has also been addressed by spokesman Chris Hughes who said "Simply put, we have never provided our users' information to third party companies, nor do we intend to."

Concerns have been raised regarding the difficulty of deleting user accounts on the website. Previously, Facebook only allowed users to "deactivate" their accounts. This meant that their profile was no longer visible on the website, but any information that the user had entered into the website and on their profile still existed on the website's servers. This had concerned users who wished to permanently remove their account, citing reasons such as an overly embarrassing profile that may affect a future employer's decision in whether or not to hire someone based on what a user's online profile reveals. As of February 29, 2008, Facebook has changed its account deletion policies, allowing users to contact Facebook directly to request that a user account be permanently deleted from the website.



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