GeekSugar

Facebook Beacon Goes Bye Bye. . . It Won't Be Missed

GeekSugar — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 01:44:42 PDT

Just uttering the words Facebook Beacon gives me the heebie jeebies. Who can forget when FB rolled out its little mini-feed, which automatically shared your purchasing info, right on your profile for everyone to see? But it didn't stop there, we soon learned that there were a number of third-party sites tracking your buying habits even after Facebook launched its opt out of Beacon option.

Well after a class-action lawsuit against Beacon, Facebook has finally agreed to shut it down completely. They are also going to give $9.5 million towards an online privacy fund.

Daily Tech: The HTC Touch HD vs. the iPhone 3G

GeekSugar — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 12:01:00 PDT

The new HTC Touch HD gets sized up and compared to the iPhone 3G and the Samsung Omnia in this French video (don't worry, you get the gist without needing to know what they are saying). - Gizmodo
Yesterday, Microsoft unveiled the new Windows Live Messenger Beta that offers more fresh and fun features than the previous version. - CNET
Griffin showed off some hot new iPhone accessories at the opening of Apple Expo Paris yesterday. - Unplggd
It looks like Facebook's targeted ad initiative Beacon may be back. How the heck did it creep back into our FB pages? - TechCrunch
Sounds like Jerry Seinfeld won't be returning for the second phase of Microsoft's ad campaign. - Valleywag
It's giveaway time! Be sure to log in to your TeamSugar account for your chances to win geek-chic beach gadgets and accessories! - geeksugar

Is Facebook Creeping You Out?

GeekSugar — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 16:00:59 PST

I've discussed before how much Beacon, Facebook's targeted-ad initiative, drives me nuts, but I assumed that after Mark Zuckerberg's speech that things were going to change for the better. Maybe not: When the associate editor of Valleywag.com recently changed his profile to "engaged," he had no idea that Facebook would start spamming him with ads. He quickly did the math and realized that his fiancée had registered them on The Knot.com, which just so happens to be a Beacon partner.

Although she opted not to have ads sent to their Facebook friends, Beacon is still tracking their every move on the site (see exhibit A above). Here's his hilarious summary about the situation: "Facebook, you might want to know I'm not an American Express cardholder. And also, I'm not going to buy that dress. Oh, and one more thing? How hard could it have been for American Express, your partner in advertising bliss, to check off "female" on this order form? Answer: Not very. Next time, try a coupon for discount tux rentals at Men's Wearhouse." On that note, have another look at the entire list of corporations partnered with Facebook's Beacon.

Geek Tip: How to Block Facebook Beacon

GeekSugar — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 13:00:29 PST

If you love Facebook, but hate their new Beacon feature that collects your online purchasing info, wikiHow has just posted step-by-step instructions that show you how to block Beacon and prevent it from collecting your browsing and buying activities. By installing a Firefox extension called Blocksite and following a few simple steps, your data will remain private, so you don't have to worry about Facebook spying on your every online move.Source

The Corporations Behind Facebook's Beacon

GeekSugar — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 08:00:04 PST

Now that we know all about Beacon, Facebook's online marketing initiative, we can feel better knowing that Facebook is striving to respect their users' privacy.

Yeah right! The only difference now is that you can opt-in or out of having your purchasing info listed on your profile, although your buying habits are still being tracked by third-party sites. Wondering what these sites are?

Thanks to The Consumerist, who has posted the full list of companies participating in Beacon, we can learn who the culprits are that are fueling the fire so to speak.

For the entire list of companies,

AllPosters.com
Blockbuster
Bluefly.com
Busted Tees
CBS Interactive (CBSSports.com & Dotspotter)
Citysearch
CollegeHumor
echomusic
ExpoTV
Gamefly
Hotwire
iWon
Joost
Kiva
Kongregate
LiveJournal
Live Nation
Mercantila
National Basketball Association
NYTimes.com
Overstock.com
Pronto.com
(RED)
Redlight
SeamlessWeb
Sony Online Entertainment LLC
Sony Pictures
STA Travel
The Knot
TripAdvisor
Travel Ticker
Travelocity
TypePad
viagogo
Vox
Yelp
WeddingChannel.com
Zappos.com