Facebook knows your past, but how?

[JBlombier]

I've had Facebook for about 3 months, because a (lame ass) friend of mine made it for me. I deleted it a while ago and I can only hope to be really rid of it, but I doubt it.
My wife still has FB and has repeatedly asked me how on earth it was possible that FB knew that she knew this person. I assume you know what I mean... FB says: You might know this person! and usually you don't, but sometimes you do.

Sadly, I have to admit that I don't know how FB does it, so this is where my question comes from. I understand how FB makes the connections between all registered users and all of their acquaintances. But how do they know that my wife was in a college-introduction-group with someone, when she didn't even finish her first year on that particular college and has no FB-friends from that time.

I told her that there are numerous algorithms calculating odds and that this is why the majority of people in your "Maybe you know these people"-list are strangers (or probably friends from acquaintances you don't know well enough) and once in a while the algorithm actually works and picks someone you haven't seen longer than FB even exists.

The problem is, I have no clue, I just tell my wife these things, because it sounds somewhat truthfull to me. It'd be nice if someone really knew how they do this, because eventhough it's just programming, I find it somewhat remarkable as well.

[notyou2]

FB asks to access your email. Not sure if that is the smoking gun in this case.

[mrswdk]

Facebook is party to the data swaps that NSA and GCHQ do, so it gets to see all sorts of information like which websites you browse, which brand of toothpaste you buy and how far notyou2 can bend down without giving himself a hernia. Those 'mistakes' that People You Know makes are probably not mistakes at all - they're kids you went to school with, taxi drivers who once took you home from dinner and all sorts of other people that you don't remember meeting but that Facebook has carefully written down in their file marked 'JBlombier'.

You're European, so the government has already taken away your guns. Unfortunately this is the result: tyranny.

[DoomYoshi]

I once tracked down a guy who wrote a game for BBSes 30 years ago, by searching through phone records and "Known Connections" files (I had the old address where he wanted money sent but he now lived in a different state with a different username).

If an amateur can do it in a few hours, I'm sure Facebook can do it.

[Metsfanmax]

I just tell my wife these things, because it sounds somewhat truthfull to me.

So that's how you've managed to remain married, eh?

[waauw]

You sure the data isn't just saved within your browser somewhere?

[warmonger1981]

Check this out. They don't even need to see your face.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source= ... ksFgdf6gVQ

[DoomYoshi]

David Cameron looks like jonesthecurl, and I have never seen those two in the same place at the same time...

[waauw]

I have the looks of an asian. People sometimes say all asians look alike. Ergo I'm anonimous.

[DoomYoshi]

I have the looks of an asian. People sometimes say all asians look alike. Ergo I'm anonimous.

I've never seen you or safariguy5 in the same place at the same time either!

[jonesthecurl]

David Cameron looks like jonesthecurl, and I have never seen those two in the same place at the same time...

Now I'm glad you can get guns here. Bloody Cameron? I don't mind jolly banter, but that's a step too far.
Soon they'll be seeing you and a funeral procession in the same place at the same time...

[warmonger1981]

I can't believe it.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source= ... I2jZIuxU_w

[JamesKer1]

Facebook has the ability to access every other page you visit- it is not uncommon to be looking at a house listing and see the EXACT same house come up in an ad.

Freaking crazy.

[GeneralFault]

Dear All,

I don't believe in conspirancy theories, nor in the pure evil of mankind..... FaceBook (like twitter, LinkedIn and other social media) gathers all data collected by their users and queries it on different crossings (in my profession we call it cubing, big data or relevant data). So it works exactly like google or microsoft and apple.

It stores your preferences and your past and 'suggests' common grounds and people. This means that if you did not enter your highschool in FaceBook, but someone else did, you are still linked to this data. We only complain about this process when it does not suit us, but for most of the time it is convinient. Ofcourse, there will always be discussion about how far you can or may go, but the FaceBook guys are not busy with destroying your lives. I know all arguments for privacy, and i do agree with some of them...

Do not have any technoFEAR, but have technoJOY !!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6C_HjWr3Nk

[nietzsche]

facebook molested me

[macbone]

Minority Report showed all this:

[JBlombier]

I just tell my wife these things, because it sounds somewhat truthfull to me.

So that's how you've managed to remain married, eh?

Hehe, I don't know if you're married, but if you are, you wouldn't even need to be asking that question

Thanks for the reactions, btw. I knew we were screwed, but it's always nice to know how screwed we actually are.

[warmonger1981]

Thoughts people

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source= ... SRy1zwj0Yg

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source= ... Cnbg2Thy0g

[mrswdk]

Thoughts people

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source= ... SRy1zwj0Yg

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source= ... Cnbg2Thy0g

Could not care less. Next.

[2dimes]

7 degrees of Kevin Bacon.

Example. My wife's friend Dawn ends up on my friend list. One day my ex-girlfriend comments on something Dawn posted.

I ask Dawn how she knows my ex, turns out my ex married Dawn's boyfriend's best friend.

Chances of that are pretty slim since I only have two ex-girlfriends.

[DoomYoshi]

David Cameron looks like jonesthecurl, and I have never seen those two in the same place at the same time...

Now I'm glad you can get guns here. Bloody Cameron? I don't mind jolly banter, but that's a step too far.
Soon they'll be seeing you and a funeral procession in the same place at the same time...

I'm sorry

[mrswdk]

David Cameron's great. Don't see how he looks anything like jones though.

[DoomYoshi]

David Cameron's great. Don't see how he looks anything like jones though.

they both have heads on their necks and hair

[mrswdk]

And they're white and male.

Okay I see it now.

[saxitoxin]

I've had Facebook for about 3 months, because a (lame ass) friend of mine made it for me. I deleted it a while ago and I can only hope to be really rid of it, but I doubt it.
My wife still has FB and has repeatedly asked me how on earth it was possible that FB knew that she knew this person. I assume you know what I mean... FB says: You might know this person! and usually you don't, but sometimes you do.

Sadly, I have to admit that I don't know how FB does it, so this is where my question comes from. I understand how FB makes the connections between all registered users and all of their acquaintances. But how do they know that my wife was in a college-introduction-group with someone, when she didn't even finish her first year on that particular college and has no FB-friends from that time.

I told her that there are numerous algorithms calculating odds and that this is why the majority of people in your "Maybe you know these people"-list are strangers (or probably friends from acquaintances you don't know well enough) and once in a while the algorithm actually works and picks someone you haven't seen longer than FB even exists.

The problem is, I have no clue, I just tell my wife these things, because it sounds somewhat truthfull to me. It'd be nice if someone really knew how they do this, because eventhough it's just programming, I find it somewhat remarkable as well.

Basically, anytime you complete a survey or poll I do on Conquer Club, I transcribe the results on yellow legal pads and then send them via DHL to Friendster's HQ. At the Friendster HQ are a lot of Indian women who take the information and transcribe it onto 3x5" index cards. When you log-in to your Friendster account, they quickly pull out the index card from a card file to look at my original notes and then cross-reference it according to a color code to see what other people have similar notes on their index cards. Then they recommend other friends to you that way.

We originally created the system to track DoomYoshi, but now Friendster uses it for everyone. It's crazy to think of how much technology like this is coming to run our lives.