Facebook shows how privacy is passé

[Commentary] Welcome to the post-privacy era.

What's most striking about Facebook's initial public offering isn't that it values the 8-year-old company at up to $100 billion, or that this will be the biggest-ever IPO for an Internet firm. What's most striking is that Facebook is serving up to investors the prospect of 845 million users (read: consumers) worldwide being a captive market for businesses looking to sell them stuff. And in a twist that would have been unimaginable before social media took the Net by storm, we've become willing partners in the devaluing of our privacy. It's not just that we no longer feel outraged by repeated incursions on our virtual personal space. We now welcome the scrutiny of strangers by freely sharing the most intimate details of our lives on Facebook, Twitter and other sites.

While many of us (myself included) still take our privacy seriously, it's clear that an ever-growing number of Net users either don't fret too much about safeguarding their personal info or see the abandonment of privacy as the price of admission to a bright, shiny theme park of online attractions. Facebook is counting on that — as are those who will end up investing in the company. Because without our complacency and complicity, social media have little to offer and little chance of making a buck. No worries.

Privacy is so 20th century. Get over it. Better yet, post something online. What could be the harm?