Facebook has officially redeemed themselves.
I’ve been upset with Facebook for more than a year now. They just weren’t innovating. Twitter allowed you to follow people without friending, which ushered in a whole world of celebrities on the Twitter train.
Facebook didn’t change. And Twitter went mainstream.
Recently, Google Plus has come out with a whole new innovation of social media  filtering. The ability to share status updates, news and video with select circles of friends – without letting other friends see. They beat Facebook to this seemingly obvious evolution of social sharing.
But finally, Facebook is catching up, and it looks like they’re moving far ahead.
At the F8 conference last week, Mark Zuckerberg shared a world of Jobs’ian beauty. It’s exciting. It’s beautiful. It gives users more control. It takes the best features that Twitter and Google Plus have to offer (following & filtering). I’m proud of Facebook. I’m excited about Facebook once again.
But, here’s my one big concern, and it’s probably everyone’s. This “semantic Web” that Zuckerberg is so excited about, and the privacy issues that we’re so fearful of. Your interaction with Facebook apps now automatically ends up in, no longer your timeline, but your ticker (the new right sidebar feature).
You don’t get to opt-in to this. You don’t get to say no. This just isn’t smart. I’m going to be self conscious about the songs I choose to listen to on Spotify now. Do I want people to know I’m listening to the new Jay-Z album? Now I don’t get a choice. If I want to do something, I am forced to do it publicly. Sorry Zuckerberg. This ain’t going to fly. Fix this. Focus on making things easier while giving us more control. And you’ll stay in the lead for good this time.