Facebook Subtly Improves Our Stalking Experience

They say the only constant in life is change, and the same is definitely true of Facebook.  You simply can't rely on Facebook to stay the same--it's constantly changing its look and adding features that we hate at first but quickly grow dependent on, and it all very much fits into some neo-Marxist paradigm in which we become complicit in our own media manipulation.  The latest example?  Over the past few weeks, we've noticed that we can now see entire albums that contain tagged photos of our friends, even we're not friends with the person that posted the album.

For example, let's say Heidi Montag, arch-nemesis of Lauren Conrad (as of the last time we watched The Hills, which was over the summer), posted an album containing pictures of Stephanie Pratt.  Stephanie is friends with both Heidi and Lauren, but Heidi and Lauren are very much not friends.  Well, under the old Facebook photo protocals, the only photos that Lauren would be able to see from Heidi's album would be ones that someone she is friends with, Stephanie, was tagged in.  Now, though, Lauren can see the whole album, opening up a whole new world of possibilities: she can see who else attended Heidi's party, she can view the photos in sequential order, and she can pick up on in-jokes that role out gradually over a series of captions.  These may sound like small victories, but trust us, they can greatly enhance and contextualize your Facebook experience.

Now, disclaimer, it still depends on your specific privacy settings, which can be configured in various and sundry ways.  (And also, Heidi strikes us as more of the MySpace type.)  But other than that, there you have it: expanded stalking capabilities!  We applaud this update to the photo application, but wonder if it might be some sort of error, because, in our opinion, it seems like it fits more into the older, more open ethos of a pre-corporatized Facebook.  But whatevs, we'll enjoy it while it lasts.