I came across some very public information tonight on Facebook’s site (not from any of my Facebook friends – anyone can find it), that to any other blogger would be fair game to share. It basically confirms many of the rumors of Techcrunch’s reporting of Spartan, and reveals more details that even Techcrunch doesn’t know. I guess being a developer kind of helps in “reporting”. However, I’m torn whether the “right thing” to do is to share the information I just found.
The thing is – I have very close friends at Facebook. I tried to get them to spill the beans about what is launching, but understandably, they wouldn’t share it (I don’t expect them to). Of course, if they told me what I know now I would definitely not have shared it. My word is my honor – if someone tells me something and tells me not to share it, I don’t share it. My friendship is more important to me than breaking my honor. However, what I found tonight wasn’t from any friend – it’s out there in the open.
So you understand why I’m torn. I know a whole lot about what Facebook is getting ready to launch as a result of this find, and I could notify my friends at Facebook of the mistake of this data being out in the open, or I can publish it on my blog, letting the world know I understand how to find these things, bringing a ton of traffic here, and breaking the news before even Facebook does. People get pretty good job offers off this type of stuff (although I admit I’m not sure I’m looking right now, yet). Would that be the right thing to do though? I know what Techcrunch would do (and I probably would do the same thing if I was employed there – it’s expected of a blog like that – it’s news).
I think I’ve decided to hold on to most of the information, but I will share one thing with you to prove I know something’s coming, very likely tomorrow, in the realm of a mobile platform on Facebook. Keep watching here and on Google+ and Facebook and I hope to share more, in the right way, as it makes sense.
Anyway, here’s the iOS icon they’re likely going to use:
