There's definitely a lot to be said for insecure defaults -- and especially a lack of education. It's easy to over exaggerate this threat though, in my opinion

There's definitely a lot to be said for insecure defaults -- and especially a lack of education. It's easy to over exaggerate this threat though, in my opinion. Yes, Girls Around Me is really creepy, but will anyone actually get hurt because of it? Unlikely, I think. It's important to bear in mind the positive aspects of "over" sharing information, too. Connecting with old friends. Making new business acquaintances. Scholars investigating the social graph to draw interesting conclusions. Also, if data was private by default, who knows if Facebook's business model (advertising) would even be tenable. Then it becomes a question of whether we want a Facebook, warts and all, or no Facebook at all. (I wonder if anyone's actually studied the value of Facebook. Would be a pretty mammoth undertaking.)