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...everyone who comments has to post a Michael Jackson link at the end of their post!  Okay, just kidding.

Yeah, Bob, this is true, there are definitely issues of corporate control over social media, and I'm not sure that this issue is sufficiently addressed by some of the more gung-ho "social media guru" types. 

I didn't join Facebook for a long time after a lot of my online friends did, because I was worried about privacy issues, and I've heard the horror stories about the personal information this American corporation collects about all of us.

But I think people have to make a decision for themselves about whether the usefulness of the tool outweighs the drawbacks or concerns.  For me, it was better for me to join Facebook than not, because I discovered when I joined that some weirdo had decided to join using my name and picture!  It freaked me out pretty badly.  So now I joke that I joined Facebook in self-defence, so that no one else could join FOR me. :)

I think people also need to be really careful about how they use these tools.  My rule is that I don't post anything on Facebook that I would have a problem reading on the front page of the Globe and Mail tomorrow.  Usually.   And I post no contact or personal info on there, and my privacy settings are turned up to 11. :)