[Air-L] How does Facebook find friends?

[Christian Fuchs]

one should in this context also remember the political economy of 
facebook: it collects information about users from other sources in 
order to better target its advertisements and to commodify and 
economically exploit the users.
therefore it's privacy policy says for example: "We may institute 
programs with advertising partners and other websites in which they 
share information with us".

the policy also says: "We use your profile information, the addresses 
you import through our contact importers, and other relevant 
information, to help you connect with your friends, including making 
suggestions to you and other users that you connect with on Facebook". 
The formulation "and other relevant information" is so general, it can 
be everything, even a database purchased somewhere that contains 
personal information.

Which information Facebook exactly holds about a user is intransparent, 
nobody knows - except the Facebook Big Brother...

This is not not magic - it's capitalism.

Best, Christian

>>      
>>> Dear all,
>>>
>>> does anyone understand the Facebook friend suggestions algorithm?
>>>
>>> Last night, my stepson joined Facebook. Immediately, it suggested he be
>>> friends with his mother, his grandfather, and his granduncle.
>>>
>>> How could Facebook know they were related? They had no friends in common,
>>> and didn't share friends-of-friends either. His last name is common in
>>> Norway (and his granduncle has a different name). He didn't enter any phone
>>> number or postal address.
>>>
>>> He used his gmail account when he joined Facebook, but did not allow the
>>> book to search his e-mail contacts (and he doesn't know his uncle's e-mail
>>> address).
>>>
>>> Does anyone understand how Facebook pulls this trick?
>>>
>>> --anders
>>>
>>> --
>>> Anders Fagerjord, dr.art.
>>> Associate professor, Head of Studies
>>>
>>> Department of Media and Communication,
>>> University of Oslo
>>> P.O. Box 1093 Blindern
>>> N-0317 OSLO
>>> Norway
>>>
>>> http://www.media.uio.no   http://fagerjord.no
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>>        
>>
>>
>> -- 
>> Deh.
>> [+Sol]
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>>      
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-- 
- - -
Christian Fuchs
Unified Theory of Information Research Group
christian.fuchs at uti.at
http://www.uti.at
Personal: http://fuchs.uti.at
NetPolitics Blog: http://fuchs.uti.at/blog