Online Public Relations Thoughts

No company wants to see this on 60 Minutes.  Facebook is in a tough position on the strength of its own research leaked to The Wall Street Journal and the CBS news magazine by a whistleblower.  The most Facebook can do is to sputter that its data was inaccurately interpreted and taken out of context.  That won't fly in the public perception and in the Congressional hearings about to take place. Facebook is facing a public castigation for inattention to the effects of its system.  The company can hunker and hope it blows over or it can take steps to monitor its users better and introduce new controls for harmful information put on its service.  Either way, it will be expensive for the company's reputation and bottom line.