Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Caught in the Facebook Web

Does anyone know why my spell check doesn't work ?  Sorry for any mistakes in advance. When I'm tired I'm not so good at proofreading..

In a previous post I mentioned that I had  gone on a hike during the Easter holiday. I posted a picture of myself at Buttermilk Falls.

Today I went into work and had  a couple of people say "I saw you on D***'s Facebook page!!
I was stunned. I had no clue what they were talking about. Turns out my friend  had posted  the same picture of me, that I have on my blog. This is a recent friend, not a long time one. She doesn't seem to understand why I 'm unhappy about this and I'm disappointed that she doesn't get it. I'm also disappointed that I thought I could be friends with a person who shares a common interest only to find out  that it isn't so.

It would have been nice if she had at least asked me if it was OK to use my photo.   Everybody knows I don't care for Facebook. I agree with another friend that Facebook is like perpetual highschool. Supposedly my friend had over 150 friends on Facebook. Well, they aren't my friends.  Yes, I used the photo on my blog, but it was a picture of me, not somebody else. I never post photos of people on my blog  unless I have permission from  them. I think that is just common courtesy and respect for their privacy. Not everyone wants to be a part of the social networking scene, especially when you have no clue who all is in that network.

Can a person really have 150 friends? Or is it that I'm such an old fogey that I don't get the whole Facebook  thing? That perhaps calling someone a friend means something different than what I think it means.

And maybe I'm kidding myself to think that there is any such thing as privacy anymore. I have a blog that anyone who cares to, can read. I have given out my address to hundreds of people through  my postcard hobby. They could be on Google maps right now, watching my house and I don't even know.

Still, I think it would be nice if a person would ask me first if they can use my picture.






 



  

3 comments:

Lisa Emrich said...

Um, yea, that's very bad form.

Anonymous said...

Hi Carole:

Re: Facebook. I am in it for the games! LOL Ok the socialization is ok too but not my priority! LOL

Some FYI that I learned last year: Most of the time that we post photos anywhere on the web (blog, facebook, myspace, etc.), they become public domain.

Yes, since she KNOWS you, she should have at least let you know her plans of posting your photo, but some people do not have internet etiquette or may not know it exists.

A friend of mine posted a photo on her blog and an "allergy" medicine company thought she would make a great "after" picture in their ad. So they photoshopped her before picture and used her blog picture as the after picture and she got mad.

Not just because they used her picture either! She got mad because she does not have allergies!!! and didn't want her family to think that she was really suffering. They did.

Her photo was to show her readers how high dose steroids had made her face swell (exaggerated moon shape) - not allergies!

I told her to go after the company and tell them she wanted to be paid for using her photo. The company told her the photo was public domain once it was uploaded to the web and the only way she could protect herself was to put a statement under each photo that "photos may not be used WITHOUT permission from author."

They did end up paying her $1000 to shut her up.

But that is the experience I know of when photos appear in places other than they were intended.

They are public domain.

Under each photo, it may be wise to put the statement I quoted above.

Sorry you were so upset about "D's" behavior. I would have been too since she didn't even mention it to you in the first place.

Take care,
Anne

Diane J Standiford said...

My partner told me yesterday that thsi can be done. NO WAY! I am so sick of FB. How DARE someone steal my family photos? Oh, I see Anne says they are public domain, that means they can post them anywhere? There is much about Internet that bothers me. LOL, I'll tell you why YOUR spell chk quit working when you tell me why mine does. And I am a terrible speller and can't see too well. My posts are probably a mess, sorry ahead of time. Your friend has a lot of nerve. Yeah, I have sooo many people yammering on my FB page---DON'T KNOW THEM! One I "blocked" but she still appears! FB is a disaster. And certain people who shall remain nameless, ok, Lisa and Anne, got me hooked on slot machine and now poker, neither that I understand! I have 2mll chips, then none! I get "gifts" but don't know how to give gifts. AArrggh