Forum at Etsy about Clarifying What You Share and How You're Found on Etsy

Admin

* * * Please note the title on this blog listing is clickable to the forum page at Etsy that these conversations came from too. For those who would like to read more, and understand more of what is happening and being said over there. 

sean11 says

Hi all,

We've made some important updates to help you control what you share, how you're found, and how you present yourself on Etsy.

1. Findability

We recently announced the coming of a feature that will help you find people you know on Etsy. Soon you will be able to connect securely with your email service provider and see which of your contacts are on Etsy, so you can add them to your Etsy circle.

If you don't want your Etsy username to be found by friends and family this way, for whatever reason, you can opt out by adjusting your settings in the new Findability section of your account privacy settings:

http://www.etsy.com/your/account/privacy

This upcoming feature is aimed at buyers and new members and is scheduled to go live in mid-February.

2. Circles

Circles on Etsy are about sharing and discovering the work of others. When someone adds you to their circle, they can follow along with your public favorites and Treasury lists in their activity feed.

Circles are just a few months old, but they're growing up fast and are here to stay. The option to disable circles and the activity feed has been removed from your privacy settings page.

You can control what you share when someone adds you to their circle with the existing favorites privacy setting.

If you make your favorites private, do not create any public Treasury lists or add anyone to your circle, Etsy members who have added you to their circle will not receive any updates from you.

If you had previously disabled this feature, your activity feed is just being born. Learn more about circles and activity feeds here:

http://help.etsy.com/app/answers/list/c/9,92

3. Profiles

Your profile is your "face" on Etsy. You can show off your latest item listings, favorite items, favorite shops, Treasury lists and Teams there.

But we won't force you to show everything. You can now turn modules off if you like via the the new Activity Modules section when you edit your profile:

http://www.etsy.com/your/profile

Questions? Please post in this thread.

Thanks!
Sean 

* * * While I'm glad we have the choice, it should NOT have automatically been turned on without our consent.

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I understand this viewpoint - I can see how being found by your email could be seen as invasive. However, we made a big effort to inform every one of our members of what was happening. We also want everyone to be found by default - if it's easier to be found, people will make more connections, and thus will be exposed to more through their activity feed, and more items will get sold! So, it's a difficult call to make, and I totally understand why our final decision would be upsetting.

* * * I'm really happy that you are no longer required to show everything on your profile, thank you for that.

Can you please explain the logic behind no longer allowing people to disable their circles and activity feed?

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Circles and the activity feed are really core to what Etsy's about, and will be integrated more fully into the site. Just as it's hard to imagine Etsy without a checkout process, soon it will be hard to imagine Etsy without an activity feed and the ability for members to connect with one another and share discoveries. Etsy is a marketplace, and markets are conversations.

The option to disable this feature was also a bit redundant -- if you don't want to share your favorites, you have the option to make them private. If your favorites are private, and you don't create public Treasury lists or add anyone to your circle, no one will receive updates from you when they add you to their circle. If for some reason you don't want to be added to someone's circle, you can discreetly block them.

Your activity feed is limited to your own activity and your shop activity if you decide not to add other members to your circle.

Sean

http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6770145&page=1  Here is the link to the copies of the conversations I have noted here for you to read, and of course to the rest of the thread of what people are saying, asking, and how administration is responding.

* * * Ok, for those from Etsy who are sellers, buyers, or concerned about what is happening recently, this is a part of the conversations that got started on a thread there today. There is plenty more to read about this issue, and how things are being worded. Just when you thought it might be ok, calming down a bit, then when they say things & how they say it....Well, now, it is not good. I just watched a long time member who has been there through much announce that after this thread, and how Etsy answered to things....they are closing shop, and going to Artfire!  They feel unsecure with things, and feel the need to move on, but hope that Etsy can still fix things. So sad to hear this.

So, how does everyone feel with these newest changes of the circles, and activities feed? You can opt out of the email privacy thing, but now this is coming at ya. Share with us if you want.