Privacy and interactivity: Choose one

A wise professor once told me that the world of video production has a tried and true maxim; "Time, Money, Quality...You Get to Choose Two." In other words, you can have it fast and cheap, but it will be low quality. Or you can have it done quickly, with high quality, but it will cost you $$$. So it is with privacy and interactive media. You can have high quality interactivity, but it will cost you some personal information. Just as in a real-life relationship, the quality of the relationship depends on transparency and disclosure on the part of both participants. Research suggests that Millennials understand this and are willing to disclose information for the sake of a richer online experience. But in the process they sometimes become lackadaisical about granting permission to their online partners. How many of you have read the privacy clause before clicking the "proceed" button? Facebook's privacy policy is quite lengthy, but begins with these two core principles:

1. You should have control over your personal information.
Facebook helps you share information with your friends and people around you. You choose what information you put in your profile, including contact and personal information, pictures, interests and groups you join. And you control the users with whom you share that information through the privacy settings on the My Privacy page.

2. You should have access to the information others want to share.
There is an increasing amount of information available out there, and you may want to know what relates to you, your friends, and people around you. We want to help you easily get that information.

Of course privacy policies are only as good as the companies behind them. Does the company's reputation for business ethics suggest that they will be a trustworthy partner? If you're not sure, you really ought to reconsider jumping into a relationship with them.