August 19, 2009 by Daniel James

Social networking is an amazing concept that has seen some explosive growth in recent times. Every day, there are millions of people communicating and interacting with one another through large, "free" social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace. Millions more are "tweeting" their every action on Twitter. Clearly, the mainstream masses have found that the benefits of social networking are of great value to them. But how many of them have paused to consider the aspects of privacy and security before using these sites?

When evaluating the subjects of privacy and security in social networking, it helps to understand the business model of the site in question. One thing is common among nearly all social networking sites: They are each looking to make money and turn a profit as a business. Without a financial incentive, there is little reason for a company to undertake the liability of running a social networking site. And nearly every business can be boiled down to three "actors:" The Company, the Customer, and the Product. The Company has a goal to earn money, which it can do by selling Products. Customers have a goal of obtaining something of value, which it can do by purchasing Products. The Product is something of value that the Company can sell to the Customer for a profit. Let us look at an example:

Joe's Hardware is a small hardware store that sells assorted screws, nails, and doorknobs to local general contractors, homeowners, and hobbyists. Joe is able to sell his products to his customers, which in turn provides money to pay for the store, workers, and utilities and still turn a decent profit at the end of the day. His customers are happy because they are able to find all of the screws, nails, and doorknobs they need for their projects.

That was pretty straightforward, but now consider how most social networks operate. Who is the customer? What is the product? If you are a user of a site like Facebook or MySpace, would you be surprised to find out that you were actually the product?

In a "free" social networking site business model, the real customers, who have real money, are actually the advertisers. These sites sell their users' time, attention, and personal information to the advertisers. As a user, you are nothing more than a product--a way to make money--to these sites. You are provided with access to their advertisement-laden site, but only at the expense of your personal information, and ultimately, your privacy. So how is WeOurFamily different?

WeOurFamily's business model is straightforward, like the example of Joe's Hardware. Our customers are our users. Our product is the WeOurFamily website, which provides private and secure social networking for a small annual fee. Our customers are happy to pay for a private and secure place where they have control over their time, attention, and personal information.

So, would you rather be the customer... or the product?