Why do you post what other people ask you to?

Note to friends.

Sometimes, a Facebook message, E-Mail, comment or other, suggests that you type something into your status or comments. That may not always be a great thing to do.

Right now, there is a popular Facebook image going around suggesting that you type in the '@' symbol, some other symbols, and some combination of numbers from your cell phone. What happens is that Facebook ends up replacing it with some other words, usually a person's name.

Here's why this is not a good thing to do:
1) You are typing something into Facebook (known for their high regard for your privacy) that you have know idea what it will do. In this case, it is fairly innocuous. It simply is interpreted by Facebook as a macro to replace with the title of a page it knows about. I could give you a special number to type in there and it would replace it (for all of your friends to see) with the title of the page "I am Gay". Sure, no harm. But, you had no idea what it would replace it with that. What if it was the title of a page that was very offensive to you or your friends. What if it replaced it with your Facebook password. Or it randomly picked a photo that you had deleted in the past that you didn't want shown. The point is, as soon as you type something into Facebook that you are not sure what it does, you are at risk of something happening of which you have no idea.

2) Sometimes, even things that look safe, can give away a little bit about you that you don't want to give away. In this case, you might have just put in the last three digits of your phone number, and it converts it into words. Someone could easily convert those words back into part of your phone number. With that, and other information about you in Facebook, it would be simple to figure out the entire phone number. Maybe not a big deal, but that is probably more information than you planned, or realized you were giving out.

So, before you type something into your status that a friend, acquaintance, or stranger tells you to. Stop. Think about it. Do you know exactly what it is going to do? Are you prepared to share your decision to do that with all of your friends?

Finally, notice that I am NOT asking all of my Facebook friends to put this in their status.

Why I am not going to complain about the new Facebook anymore

OK, I don't want Facebook to change back anymore. I don't appreciate the new layout, neither do millions of others. But, if a company has a vision, which Facebook has demonstrated they do in the past, then I say they should execute on it.

As customers, we think we know what a company should do. "The Customer is always right" rings loud and clear in our heads. Well, if the customer is so smart, and his idea is so much better than the company he is complaining about, then why doesn't the customer take that idea, go out there and make it happen.

You know what? Sometimes those ideas are better, the customer does go out and start a business of their own with that new ideas. And, sometimes they prove that their idea was correct. They did have vision, they were smarter and they are hugely successful.

But, then what do you think happens? They might continue being bold, smart, innovative. They have an idea about changing what they are doing in a way that might better, bold, and innovative. But what happens? A bunch of their customers complain. Is the customer always right? Who cares? If they are, great for them. Let them take their ideas off and capture the business that they think the company is leaving behind.

Facebook has shown that it sees what is possible better than other. It has become wildly successful because of that ability. Now, they have made a change because they believe this is the direction to go. Sure, you could argue they are seeing the new upstart, Twitter, and they are trying to capture some of that energy, great. They might just do it right again.

In any case, this is their bus. I think they have a right to drive it where they want. If I choose to get off, that is my choice. If they choose to keep going, they have shown to be a good trip planner in the past.