Why Would Steemit.com Use Facebook SDK?
As I was just browsing through some of my old posts, I accidentally made a surprising discovery: Steemit.com, the website, uses a Facebook SDK. As you can see from the console screenshot below, it loads the FB Connect SDK:
It also loads Google Analytics tracking code, which is something I was expecting, so no questions here.
But Facebook SDK? Hmmm...
Here are a few potential scenarios:
- Steemit is preparing (or it's already testing) the mobile app, in which it integrated the SDK. This is a common usage of the Facebook SDK scripts, especially since you want to use features like Facebook login, or tracking installs as a result of a Facebook ad
- Steemit is preparing a Facebook ad campaign and it uses the SDK to monitor the results (that would be really, really interesting)
- Steemit is using Facebook SDK as a way to track more marketing metrics than GA can track (another common usage of this SDK)
- Steemit hired a professional marketing company which required they install this tool to help them track user behavior
- Steemit will soon use Facebook login as a way to log in to / join Steemit (my brain is already curling just thinking about why would you do something like this)
I confess I am a bit confused about this. It's not something bad per se, it's just something I wouldn't expect to see here.
Thoughts?
I'm a serial entrepreneur, blogger and ultrarunner. You can find me mainly on my blog at Dragos Roua where I write about productivity, business, relationships and running. Here on Steemit you may stay updated by following me @dragosroua.
https://steemit.com/~witnesses
If you're new to Steemit, you may find these articles relevant (that's also part of my witness activity to support new members of the platform):
The only personal knowledge I have on this subject matter is that we 100% do not use any software that tracks user behavior. This is because none of the software on the market meets our standards of maintaining our user's privacy. That doesn't mean we won't have user analytics at some point, but when we do it will not compromise privacy at all. I think back in the day steemit.com leveraged facebook connect for account creation, so maybe it's vestigial, but I'm not an engineer so what do I know :). We also are not going to use facebook connect for sign up in the future.
Community Liaison, Steemit
I just read this post from Elear where they clearly will use Facebook connect!?
Thanks for replying so fast, appreciate it.
I personally think the amount of technical knowledge in the Steemit INC team is on par, if not better, with Facebook's, so if you want to track user behavior, for marketing purposes and with a decent level of privacy, you would probably use some internal tools. That's why I was a bit surprised... It also uses Facebook Cross-Domain Messaging helper which may, or may be not, loaded by the named SDK.
My pleasure. Yup. I'm not going to crap on Facebook's team, I'm sure they're world-class. But we certainly can do it internally (we have team members who have actually turned down offers from companies like facebook) and that's probably the only way we would do it. It's just a matter of finding the engineering bandwidth.
2 questions comes to mind:
Steemit, busy and chainbb leverage the Steem blockchain which is MIT open source and so isn't owned by anyone. Steemit launched the blockchain and accelerates the development of it, but the literal definition of open source is that no one owns it.
thanks for clarifying that! am new to all this (thumbs up)
busy.org uses segment for tracking user behavior, while chainbb seems not to use anything similar at this point.
this is all so interesting
No idea dude! but, well pointed out! hopefully will means something interesting :-)
OH NOE's...Steemit uses a Soft Detergent Kleaner....
shouldn't they use the real deal...
use Lava soap or bleach?
:))))))) I will definitely use this definition of SDK in my next technical meeting. It's just too good :)
And I will read and upvote the post of what transpired in that meeting, because that is an excellent definition of SDK!
When I signed up for an account, steemit used that I had a FB account to let me do so. It may be a hold over from that time.
But, I too noticed this. Why is steemit.com loading from f-c-book?
It felt really jarring. As, I thought we were supposed to be that anti-f-c-book.
It must have happened before October 2016, when I joined, because I don't remember seeing this anywhere.
Yeah, it was a way of confirming our identity. I think the oversight was that people can have multiple FB accounts.
I think it was more about making sign up as frictionless as possible early on. The cost-benefit analysis was different at that time. Once steem acquired sufficient value, the calculus changed. When Steem had no value, the incentive to sybil attack was very low. But I wasn't part of the team back then so that's just my personal opinion.
Thanks, so it must be, as @andrarchy says, vestigial.
I also thought that... I was about to ask you what f-c-book is...
lol xD
I guess only time will reveal..
i think the right answer is
"Steemit will soon use Facebook login as a way to log in to / join Steemit (my brain is already curling just thinking about why would you do something like this)"
:))
All very interesting. Can't wait to find out what they will be using this for!
BTW
it's the same thing, the tool you're using breaks down in 6 "trackers" 2 SDKs. Double Click is still Google, FB Connect / Impressions are in the same bundle, etc...
you could assume all those points from 3 letters?? sdk??... please I need help!!... :P
I wish it is the fb login to steemit...that would not only sucks fb users in but it would blow steemit to space...
I wonder if it can do that though I mean could fb claim copyright or will steemit pay for it if it hasn't already??
this is very interesting indeed
Yes it is, see @andrarchy comment above...
Mass adoption here we come 💪🏼🙌🏼💯
Let's hope its not the last one because this would mean a boat load of new account for just spam and selfvoting.
If you have to pay or give a phone number to register, it's one thing, but if you can use your network of puppet facebook accounts to get access to some delegated steem and bunch of accounts, it would be a very different story. And there are people running thousands of Facebook accounts just waiting for opportunities like that to spring to action.