I'm working on a story about understanding and managing Facebook's new privacy options. I'm trying to find the silver lining in the story from the consumer's perspective, so I can present reasonable options other than "just turn it all off!"
Here is one positive thing to emerge: Likebutton.me. It's an aggregation site that reminds me of PopUrls, but instead of just taking headlines from a bunch of sites, it takes the items your Facebook friends "like" and shows them to you on the top of the story lists, followed by stories liked by the entire world of users. If you've got a good network of friends, it's a good dashboard view of what your clan finds interesting.
It's lacking in customization options. You can't drag the tiles around or delete items you don't want, for example (although you can display links in just one category at a time, like "Tech"). But the site was only created two days ago by developer Zachary Allia. He told me, "I built it this weekend after attending the F8 conference. I wanted to see if I could build something useful using only the new tools they announced." So we'll give it time to mature. And for new competitors to emerge. And for sites like Netvibes and PopUrls to figure out how to use the new Facebook features.
Likebutton.me is a news aggregator with a Facebook twist.
(Credit: Screenshot by Rafe Needleman/CNET)I'm still reserving judgment on the risks versus benefits of Facebook's recent privacy changes, but in the meantime, I like Likebutton.
4.28.2010
Likebutton.me shows Facebook's new 'like' button is not completely evil | CNET to the Rescue - CNET Blogs
via cnet.com
