Facebook founder called trusting users dumbf*cks.

The Register

"Loveable Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg called his first few
thousand users "dumb fucks" for trusting him with their data, published
IM transcripts show. Facebook hasn't disputed the authenticity of the
transcript.


Zuckerberg was chatting with an unnamed friend, apparently in early
2004. Business Insider, which has a series of quite juicy anecdotes about Facebook's
early days, takes the credit for
this one.


The exchange apparently ran like this:


Zuck: Yeah so if you ever need info about
anyone at Harvard


Zuck: Just ask.
Zuck: I have over 4,000 emails, pictures,
addresses, SNS


[Redacted Friend's Name]: What? How'd you
manage that one?


Zuck: People just submitted it.


Zuck: I don't know why.


Zuck: They "trust me"


Zuck: Dumb fucks

The founder was then 19, and he may have been joking. But humour tells
you a lot. Some might say that this exchange shows Zuckerberg was not
particularly aware of the trust issue in all its depth and complexity.

Facebook is currently in the spotlight for its relentlessly increasing
exposure of data its users assumed was private. This is nicely
illustrated in the interactive graphic you can find here or by clicking
the piccie to the right.

In turn, its fall from grace has made backers of the 'social media'
bubble quite nervous. Many new white collar nonjobs created since the
mid-Noughties depend on the commercial value of your output, and
persona;l information. (Both are invariably donated for free).

Much of the data created by Web2.0rrhea is turning out to be quite
useless for advertisers - or anyone else. Marketeers are having a harder
time justifying the expenditure in sifting through the Web 2.0 septic
tank for the odd useful nugget of information.

Facebook's data stash is regarded as something quite special. It's
authenticated against a real person, and the users tend to be over 35
and middle class - the ideal demographic for selling high value goods
and services. In addition, users have so far been 'sticky' to Facebook,
something quite exceptional since social networks fall out of fashion
(Friends Reunited, Friendster) as quickly as they attract users

Facebook also has something else going for it - ordinary users regard it
as the natural upgrade to Hotmail. In fact, once the crap has been
peeled away, there may not be much more to Facebook than the Yahoo! or
Hotmail Address Book with knobs on: the contact book is nicely
integrated, uploading photos to share easier, while everything else is
gravy. Unlike tech-savvy users, many people remain loyal to these for
years."

What's the big scandal? He's absolutely right. Having worked in IT, I can tell you that people are far too trusting and 80% of them will just GIVE you their personal details. All you have to do is ask.

I have been in fairly senior managers' offices where they have had their network passwords written on a post-it note and stuck to the monitor.

I went to a well-known company for a meeting once and was told by the receptionist that the guy I wanted was running late; would I mind waiting in reception for twenty minutes or so. I said that would be okay, but could I please plug my laptop into a network point so I could do some work while I waited (this was in the days before wireless connctions were widely used). Not only did the receptionist show me a network point, she even helped me set it up and log in. Bingo, I could have done anything to the files on that network from then on in.

But my favourite trick was to get a red plastic floppy disk, label it "Payroll-Private and Confidential" and leave it lying around, or "accidentally" dropped on the floor. I could guarantee that within ten minutes, that disk would have been round every computer in the room! I was kind, and just had a load of junk on it; but if I had had malicious intentions, it could just as easily have contained a backdoor trojan.