One step forward and one step backward for privacy on Facebook ...
One Step Back: According to the New York Times (The Day Facebook Changed - Messages to Become Public by Default - NYTimes.com), Facebook "feeds" will become publicly available. This is seen as a step to compete with Twitter. This will surprise and upset a lot of Facebook users.
One Step Forward: Facebook will let users specify privacy settings for individual status updates, so you can let your real friends know you're hung over but your acquaintances will remain clueless (Facebook More Ways to Share in the Publisher).
Facebook shoud have learned from the Feed and Beacon debacles by making the default settings more privacy protective. Choice is good, but assuming that people want to disclose more of their personal information is not a good idea.
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