Facebook retracted its new Terms of Use in the face of thousands upon thousands of protesting users. The anger was about a stealthy update to the Terms where Facebook claimed ownership of ALL content posted by its customers for eternity.

With many of us writers using the social networking site as a venue for our professional and private connections, the shear idea of what Facebook asserted was corrosive. Technically, your posts, pictures, friends, and everything else would have belonged to Facebook.

This isn’t the first time Facebook pulled a fast one, either. A little while back they pushed advertising to your friends based on purchases you made. Yepper, they were scanning your system and using the data. Can anyone say “1984?”

Anyway, the fuss is over, at least for the time being. It still is an object lesson in being careful about what you post on the web, who can see it, and what they will use it for.