Josh Constine rips apart a flimsy-to-the-point-of-being-comical WSJ story (my linking policy here):

Reality has yet to stop media outlets from yelling about privacy, and because the WSJ writers were on assignment, they wrote the “Selling You On Facebook” hit piece despite thin findings. These kind of articles can make mainstream users so worried about the worst-case scenario of what could happen to their data, they don’t see the value they get in exchange for it.

WSJ:

Some app developers and analysts believe Facebook’s underlying motivation is to position itself as an alternative development platform for programmers that now tailor mobile apps specifically for Apple’s iOS operating system or Google Inc.’s Android. Technology blog TechCrunch reported that Facebook is working on a mobile platform dubbed “Project Titan” that was designed to bypass Apple by using the HTML5 technology that works with the iPhone and iPad’s mobile browser, Safari.

Well, they totally fucked up the project name — but at least that was a real Facebook project. “Titan” was the codename for what becomes Messages. “Spartan” is the name they’re looking for here.

Also, I’m still confused by the WSJ’s linking rules. They link to their own stuff, but no one else, even when citing them.

Selling individual digital issues of a daily newspaper seems like it may make sense for plane rides, but little else. 

Of course, that’s the only time I buy newspapers in any format.