I won’t be posting to Facebook any longer

If you’re a Facebook user you recently received an e-mail from them with the subject “News from Facebook”.  I received it August 31.  The news discusses changes Facebook is making to their Data Use Policy and Statement of Rights and Responsibilities.  Usually I skip over that stuff but decided to read it this time.  There are the two things that bother me.

First, in the Proposed Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, section 2, item 1 states

For content that is covered by intellectual property rights, like photos and videos (IP content), you specifically give us the following permission, subject to your privacy and application settings: you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any IP content that you post on or in connection with Facebook (IP License). This IP License ends when you delete your IP content or your account unless your content has been shared with others, and they have not deleted it.

As a photographer who spends countless hours finding and shooting photos and additional time processing and publishing them, I’m simply not willing to allow Facebook, or any other business, to have a royalty-free, worldwide license to use my photos as they wish.  Photographers beware, if you’re posting photos to Facebook you still own the property rights but Facebook is allowed to use your photos however they like, including sub-licensing your photos to other entities.

The second thing that concerns me is in section 10, item 1 of the same document, it states

You give us permission to use your name, profile picture, content, and information in connection with commercial, sponsored, or related content (such as a brand you like) served or enhanced by us. This means, for example, that you permit a business or other entity to pay us to display your name and/or profile picture with your content or information, without any compensation to you.

Once again, users beware.  By creating a Facebook account you are granting them the ability to use your name, profile picture and other information in advertising.  This clause alone is making me consider completely deleting my Facebook account.

I understand Facebook is for-profit business.  As such they need to make money and I don’t have a problem with that.  I do have a problem with them using my intellectual property and my name and likeness in their advertising.

I’ll probably wait a few days to decide whether I want to completely delete my Facebook account but effectively immediately I will no longer be publicly posting photographs to Facebook.

If you enjoy my photos on Facebook and would like to continue seeing them, please visit my blog at dougcouvillion.wordpress.com.  In the lower right corner of the blog you will see a “Follow” button.  By click it you can sign up to get e-mail updates of my blog posts.

Cliff Swallow Nests

wildlifehub

Cliff Swallows like to build their mud nests up high, out of reach of potential predators.  As their name implies, they frequently nest along steep cliffs.  This small colony of Cliff Swallows took advantage of the eaves of a public restroom and built their nests all along the back of the building.

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Geothermal Features

The constant bubbling of mineral infused, hot water leaves colorful, thin layers of sediment throughout the geothermal areas of Yellowstone National Park.  The hot spring in the foreground of this photo reminds me of a lunar crater while the colorful cliff and distant steam behind it add to the other-worldliness of the scene.

Alpine Meadow

 

The boulders you can see in the this photograph were most likely deposited by glaciers quite some time ago.  Boulders like these are pretty common throughout the glacially carved valleys and meadows in Yellowstone National Park.

Soldier Beetle on Daisies

wildlifehub

This Soldier Beetle seems right at home among the wild daisies in Powhatan County, Virginia.

Soldier Beetles prey on aphids and other crop-damaging insects but also eat some nectar which makes them minor pollinators.

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Zebra Swallowtail Among Arrowleaf Balsamroot

Hiking past a large patch of Arrowleaf Balsamroot, I noticed a Zebra Swallowtail drifting from flower to flower collecting nectar and unwittingly spreading pollen in the process.

Blondie

 

This bison sat resting on a hillside in Yellowstone National Park when we saw it.  Since most of the bison are dark brown we nicknamed this one Blondie.

Yellow-Bellied Marmot

wildlifehub

This Yellow-Bellied Marmot was hiding in a large rock outcropping.  We watched it for a few seconds and then it took cover under the large rock just to the right of it.  Unable to get a good picture of it under the rock, I was about to turn and leave when it came back out and stared into the camera long enough for me to get this photo.

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Dragon’s Mouth

One of the geothermal features we liked best at the Mud Volcano in Yellowstone National Park was “Dragon’s Mouth”.  The combination of steam and the deep, hissing and gurgling sounds that occasionally come from the vent make the name somewhat self explanatory when you’re there.

Western Tanager

While hiking in Yellowstone National Park I noticed flashes of yellow in the pine branches overhanging the trail.  I stopped to check it out and saw a small group of Western Tanagers flying through the pines.  They didn’t remain in sight for very long so this was the only worthwhile photo I was able to capture.