Reputation Management, Internet Privacy, and Social Media Quick Hits

10:00AM PST Press Conference for Google’s “Twitter Killer”

Google is going to make an official announcement confirming its plans for a more “social” Gmail in a press conference today at 10:00AM PST. Since this news is being rumored as a “Twitter killer,” it’s probably worth checking out. You can follow along with this live blog of the press conference from CNET.

Gun Rights Advocates Monitor Facebook Too

An East Palo Alto police officer is facing criticism from gun rights advocates for making jokes about individuals who openly carry unloaded weapons as a political statement. The officer’s jokes came in response to a friend’s status update on Facebook. The comments were caught by a gun rights advocate and shared on a popular gun rights forum, where members took offense to the officer’s sarcasm. It just goes to show you that there’s a wide world of opinions on the web, and you have to be considerate of what you share online.

What Should the Social Gmail Look Like?

In anticipation of Google’s Gmail press conference later today, Ian Paul at PCWorld has laid out his “5 Hopes for a More Social Gmail.” Check them out, and see if you agree.

Protecting Kids Online Should Start With the Parents

Ian Douglas talks about Safer Internet Day and the “Click Clever, Click Safe”campaign from the UK Council for Child Internet Safety. Douglas argues that, while the campaign is well-intentioned, it misses the mark by appealing to kids directly instead of informing parents about the steps they need to take to protect their kids online. Check out some of the “Click Clever, Click Safe” marketing materials to see if you agree.

Phone Spoofing: Legal, Anonymous, and Incredibly Annoying

Taking anonymity to the next level, inexpensive “spoofing” applications for cellphones allow callers to hide their identity or pretend to be someone else when making a phone call. In some cases, the spoofing apps also allow individuals to hack into voicemail accounts. In a video news piece, the Wall Street Journal delves into this issue, and the murky legal protections consumers have against cellphone spoofing.