http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060119-6016.html

In the past few years the world saw the advent of numerous sites devoted solely to promote social networks. Among them, the facebook phenomenon has helped this category of websites to propel from simple, frivolous websites for friends to keep in contact with one another, to means for advertisement and for companies, colleges and future employers to learn more about an individual. The latter usage for facebook can bring about dire consequences for college students looking for internships and jobs. The students seem to “dig their own grave” when they put unprofessional, obscene and offensive pictures and/or comments on their own facebook profiles, which may facilitate consequences from rescindment of a job offer to legal repercussions.

In class we talked about the strength of weak ties in social networks. The invention of social networking sites allows us to keep in contact with those we may never talk to again. The sites themselves have emerged to become something analogous to connectors and mavens and they effectively propel and catalyst the dissemination of information. When one joins such a site, he/she is instantly connected to hundreds of thousands of other users who visit the site, and in facebook’s case, most notably alumni and school mates.

This is where the problem surfaces. Social networking sites gives the users “the illusion that they are merely interacting with friends, when in reality much of their behavior is viewable by any interested party”. This becomes especially dangerous for job hunting students. In a recent survey in 2005, “three quarters of (recruiters) use online search engines to check up on applicants”. One large feature of facebook is on default, it allows individuals from the same network to access profiles of other members of the network. An alumni of the individual is then able to use their own .edu account to register a facebook account, and access what previously thought as private information regarding the individual. Let us now think about the idea of triadic closure. If the network was regarded as a very big node, connected to all members of the network. According to triadic closure, the two members then have an edge connected between the two, which seems to be the fundamental idea of facebook.

Upon further analysis, more signs of triadic closure exists in facebook. The settings that allow friends of friends to access your personal profile also abides to the theory of triadic closure. When three two random nodes have strong bonds with another node, it is likely that these two nodes will develop a weak bond. In addition, according to Kossinets and Watts, two nodes who share mutual acquaintances are more likely to establish an edge between themselves, hence effectively further complicating the social network. It is not hard to imagine then, the enormity of the social network embedded into facebook.

The aforementioned property further exacerbates the problem of online privacy. Without necessary consideration of the consequences a simple setting in facebook might bring, one may be unknowingly giving up his/her online privacy.