Dear CNN,

I know you’re not the whole problem, but to me, you’re today’s big symptom. CNN, if I wanted my friends to know what I was reading at your site, I would tell them. If I wanted my Facebook friends to know what I was reading at your site, I would post a link. Or I would click the “Share on Facebook” link. It really takes very little effort to let people know what you’re up to, these days. I bet you’ve even reported about this, haven’t you?

So I’m sending out a big FUCK YOU to you, CNN, and to any other site that participates in this travesty of a Facebook scheme, whereby your privacy settings on Facebook have no bearing whatsoever on whether other websites can share your browsing habits with your Facebook friends. These sites include ABC, CBS, the Yellow Pages, IMDb, engadget, Pandora, Yelp, and MLB—among many others. So far. Just to clarify: I’m not talking about the “Like” button I can choose to press. I’m talking about reading an article on CNN—or hell, clicking on one by accident—and CNN cold telling my friends I was there.

Actually, I’m not even on Facebook, and this kind of thing is a big part of the reason. I actually think about what I tell my friends—and what I tell which friends. I’ve written here before about how Facebook and other “social” sites homogenize our friends. You can fling bits of information like poo in the general direction of your friend-mass, and your friend-mass will fling bits of poo in your general direction, too. But now, if someone who is friends with you happens to visit the same page as you—that friend will see your smiling mug at the top of the page. “Hey, Bill! Your friend Jack read this story about Larry King’s divorce too!” “Hey Sally! Your friend Roberta spent 43 minutes on this porno site! How long will you spend here?”

And that’s the other thing: Who cares if Jack was reading about Larry King? I promise you that even among the Facebook users who shrug and say that they don’t browse anywhere they’d be ashamed to be seen, there is still not one who thinks this is awesome. No one is saying, “Great! Now I don’t have to waste all that time flinging my own poo!” They’re flinging their poo because it makes them feel like they’re not alone in the world. I don’t think poo-flinging by proxy is going to give them that warm sense of personal connection with their friend-mass.

So quit it.

Your ex-reader,
Sarah

By Sarah Pike

At some point in every good dystopian story I’ve read, we find out that the miserable souls—or the demented, unimaginative losers who should be miserable—dug their own hole. They were trying to create a utopia but ended up in a Brave New World. They gave up freedom for security and ended up forbidden to read or convene. They just wanted a classless society but ended up with an identity-free one.

Facebook and Twitter are turning us into children and drones. We wanted to keep up with our friends but ended up becoming faceless recipients of, and undiscriminating fire hoses of, spew.

When was the last time you wanted everyone you knew, or sort of knew, to know everything about you? When you were a child, I hope, and needed everyone from your best buddy to your mom to the supermarket cashier to know that you drank a cup of apple juice and then peed for a really long time. I would like to say no one is interested. Alas, it seems I overestimate people. Evidently, you do want to know if I drank a cup of apple juice and peed for a really long time. Tsk.

The tragedy of coworker “social networking” has been amply covered elsewhere, largely framed in terms of the consequences of spewing personal exploits at your boss. That aside, coworkers: I’ve seen what’s on your walls, and it makes me want to quit and have my short-term memory erased. No, what you’re doing for your dad’s birthday isn’t private, but it’s fracking boring. Would you subject me to that information in person? You are lame and without boundaries and now I can’t talk to you without cringing for you.

Much more disturbing is that people seem to be losing their sense of what not to pass along very, very quickly. I’ve had a few embarrassing moments when someone disclosed something I’d said that I couldn’t conceive of anyone in their right mind repeating. The passers-along would never have done that pre-Facebook. But now what you tell one you tell all. I know it’s not a totally new phenomenon, but I’m seeing it more and more and I really do blame Facebook and Twitter for making “friends” a unified entity.

Then there’s the other side. I don’t need to be the focus of anyone’s life—when’s the last time you knew your real friend status? Are you her best-best friend, her second-best friend, her friend with no life who will pick up the phone and talk to her when she’s wasted? There’s something insulting about getting the same friend-feed as everyone else. Call me demanding, but if you want me to know something, tell me. In turn, if there’s someone from high school I want to be back in touch with, I will find that person. The rest of the class of ‘91 can broadcast their updates right into their own navels, where they belong. If I sound a little too invested in this issue, it may be partly because there is a kernel of personal sorrow; I don’t know that anyone who wanted to find me would be motivated to look beyond Facebook anymore. My friends used to send (infrequent) personal updates, photos of their kids. Now I’m SOL on news because the only place to get them is on Facebook—and I’m not going back there.

The topic du jour was all about TV, but this morning at NewTeeVee Live – an industry conference that explores the future of television – Xbox LIVE general manager Marc Whitten confirmed the next wave of social entertainment is coming to Xbox LIVE on November 17. Starting next week, Facebook, Twitter, Last.fm and instant on HD video from Zune will be available on Xbox 360 consoles, transforming Xbox LIVE into the largest social network connected to the TV with exclusive features custom-designed for the living room.

“We’re delivering some truly exciting social entertainment experiences to our members,” said Whitten. “Xbox LIVE’s differentiator has always been our community, and we’ve already seen a tremendous response to these features in our public preview. It’s the community that drives us forward and allows us to pioneer new ways of connecting people through the entertainment they love.”

• Facebook*– Update your status to share what movie, game or entertainment you’re enjoying, connect with friends and view their Facebook stream, status updates and photos on the big screen – all seamlessly integrated and custom-built for Xbox 360. You can even compare your Xbox LIVE and Facebook friends lists to see which of your friends are on LIVE.



• Zune – Zune video on Xbox LIVE offers a full fidelity experience with instant on HD in 1080p and 5.1 channel surround sound. No waiting for downloads or buffering, it’s there at the press of a button. You can also share the experience with up to seven friends through voice chat and Avatar integration on the TV screen – it puts a whole new spin on “movie night.”



• Twitter*– Stay in the know by discovering, posting and replying to Tweets right on your Xbox 360. You can even view friend profiles, trends and conversations, or search to see who’s tweeting about your favorite game.



• Last.fm* – Discover more music and explore endless personalized radio stations with Last.fm on Xbox 360. Skip, “ban” or “love” tracks to create your perfect mix—we’ve even built in “Gamer Stations” with game-related types of music selected specifically for the gaming community (Available in the U.S. and UK)

In addition to these social features, Xbox LIVE will also be debuting “News and More,” a new section of the “Inside Xbox” channel, transforming Xbox LIVE into a full-fledged media portal. With a regularly-updated stream of content from MSNBC, The New Yorker and Dilbert, “News and More” brings the latest in current events, arts and entertainment right to your fingertips.

All of these features build on the wild success of Netflix on Xbox LIVE, which quickly established TwitterXbox 360 as the most-used living room device for streaming Netflix content to the home1. Only on Xbox 360 can you find the best in movies, music, games and social networking all in one place, tailor-made for the TV and connected to more than 20 million people around the globe.

“From the launch of Xbox LIVE nearly seven years ago, to milestones like Video Marketplace, Netflix and the New Xbox Experience, we’ve continued working toward our vision of connected entertainment for everyone,” continued Whitten. “I’m proud to say that next week marks another great stride in fulfilling that promise, and we’re already imagining what the future has in store.”

So what are you waiting for? On November 17, turn on your Xbox 360, log onto Xbox LIVE and enjoy the world of social entertainment at your fingertips. Not an Xbox LIVE Gold member? Starting November 20 (12 pm ET / 9 am PT) until November 23 (12 pm ET / 9 am PT) Xbox LIVE Silver members can enjoy the latest Gold features for FREE – including Facebook, Twitter and Last.fm! There’s tons more to experience with Gold as well.  Play the latest game titles like “Halo 3: ODST” online multiplayer, participate in “1 vs. 100,” host an Xbox LIVE Party or even video chat with friends. All of these Gold-only features will be available all weekend long for anyone to try.

* Xbox LIVE Gold adult account required to access these features. Xbox LIVE Gold memberships are just over $4 (U.S.) per month  ** Xbox LIVE members under the age of 18 will not be able to access Facebook and Twitter as part of the Free Gold Weekend  1 Source: One Touch Intelligence (www.onetouchintelligence.com), from October 2009 survey conducted in association with The Praxi Group, Inc.