Some time ago, I removed myself from Facebook for about a year. During that period, I became increasingly paranoid about how much personal information I had online. When I came back to Facebook, I removed a lot of information on my page/profile. I know there's at least one copy of it out there somewhere, but I still didn't feel comfortable at being pigeonholed by data, especially by advertisers. Occasionally, I wonder if I worry too much about it. Concerning advertising, I'd rather have them have to do more work to garner me as a customer. Otherwise, I just tend to be more private, but I sacrifice that privacy to do neat things and connect to neat people online (like right now).

I also feel that part of developing a relationship with new people is learning about them one step at a time. With a flushed-out profile, that removes much of that development. It's like reading a walkthrough for a game without ever playing it first. I'd rather experience the surprises and perceptual hooplah at it unfolds. It seems more natural if nothing else. Does anyone else ever consider anything like this?

Valdronius wrote:

... The problem I always found about reading someone's profile is that they talk about themselves using their own self-perceptions, not the way other people generally see them.

Which tells more about them than they probably intend. Hoo-hoo! This can also show levels of self-awareness.