Wanted: Limited exposure

Many social networkers like their fishbowl a little cloudy, thank you. That's what they (we all) learned from Facebook's News Feed flap last week, as summed up by one user, who told the New York Times that, where their online lives were concerned, "translucent is good," transparent isn't. "Those who study social networking sites say that users’ comfort with revealing intimate details about themselves comes in part from a perception that in the din of life online, there is a kind of privacy through anonymity," the writer wrote. In other words, you're a little *more* anonymous if people have to come find your news than if it gets broadcast to all your friends as it breaks! A lot of parents will find it a relief to know that there are limits to the appeal of self-exposure on blogging and social-networking sites.