In today’s Reputation Management, Internet Privacy, and Social Media Quick Hits, we cover a lot of news coming out of Austin, Texas and the world-famous South by Southwest Music and Technology Conference. Check it out!

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People Care About Privacy, But Do Little To Protect It

With Internet users clamoring for increased social media functionality, such as recent developments by Twitter and Facebook that allow for geotagging status updates, many in the Internet industry are proclaiming that nobody really cares about privacy. This is not necessarily true, however, as Cecilia Kang reports for the Washington Post.

In remarks made by Danah Boyd, a social media researcher at Microsoft Research New England, during her opening keynote speech at this year’s South by Southwest conference, Boyd explains that users do care about privacy, they simply don’t voice their concerns until they feel that they have been violated in some way, as in the case of Google’s error-filled launch of Google Buzz.

The Post article also talks about a forthcoming Pew Research Study on Internet privacy that was taken before the launch of Google Buzz and the development of geolocation technology for Facebook and Twitter. According to early reports, the Pew research indicates that people care about privacy, but they do little to proactively protect it.

Netflix Cancels Recommendation System Improvement Contest Over Privacy Issues

Back in December, we wondered why Netflix would move forward with a proposed contest to improve its recommendation system when the company was in the middle of a lawsuit regarding the very information it was opening to the public to run the contest. Apparently, they wondered the same thing, because the New York Times is reporting that Netflix has called off the contest and is looking for alternative methods to improve its recommendation engine. The New York Times article also explains that Netflix has “reached an understanding” with the F.T.C. and settled the class-action lawsuit brought by Netflix customers.

College Assignment: Give Up Cellphone, iPod, Social Media

As part of an assignment, a professor at the University of Minnesota required her students to go five days without using any technology that didn’t exist before 1984. That meant no iPod, no cell phone, and no Facebook or Twitter. The experiment is one that is being duplicated around the country at other campuses where teachers hope to teach students something about the process of communication and the impact of new media technology in our lives. While some students enjoyed the assignment, finding freedom in the restrictions, others couldn’t help but break the rules in order to maintain their social lives.

Twitter Announcing Advertising Model Today at SXSW?

According to TechCrunch, Twitter is expected to reveal at least part of the company’s advertising model today at the South by Southwest Technology conference when Twitter CEO Evan Williams delivers his keynote speech at 2:00PM this afternoon. While Twitter claims to be profitable based on the real-time search deals the company struck with Microsoft and Google, the issue of Twitter advertising has been a hot topic in the tech industry for many months now and is certain to cause a lot of reaction from other social media services.

Digg Nation Shows How Easy it is to Start a Twitter Rumor

We knew it was easy to spread rumors on Twitter, but we didn’t know it was this easy. According to CNET’s Daniel Terdiman, this year’s South by Southwest Conference demonstrated just how easy it was to start a Twitter rumor when Digg founder Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht asked the crowd at SXSW’s Digg Party to tweet a false story in unison. What was the story, that recently laid-off talk show host and Twitter hero Conan O’Brien would be joining the Internet television start-up Revision3.

In his article, Terdiman explains why the hoax worked, at least for a little while, saying, “If only one or two people had tweeted the hoax, no one would have believed it. These days, most people’s nonsense detectors ring out when things that seem a little too good to be true make their way across the Internet, especially on sites like Twitter where anyone can say anything…But when dozens, or even hundreds of people, all tweet the same basic news at the same time, that would seem to lend the concept legitimacy; after all, hundreds of people wouldn’t all send out the same false information.”

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski Offers the Broadband Plan for Children and Families

In a talk Friday at the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski shared the “broadband plan for children and families.” Here is a YouTube video featuring Genachowski’s remarks.

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It’s finally turning into spring, which means that across the country thousands of high school seniors are throwing off the shackles of their adolescence and steaming headfirst into that exciting new world we call college. At least, that’s the plan. You see, for some, the decision on where they’re headed still hasn’t been settled.

While most college-bound kids are already filling up their parents’ minivan with dorm room furniture, others are stuck on the dreaded wait list. And that means that unlike their peers, they can’t slack off on their studies and they definitely can’t get into any trouble online that could give an admissions officer a reason to skip their name.

In honor of all the high school seniors that are currently in college admissions limbo, we have a list of three things that you should not do if you want to improve your chances of getting accepted.

1. Clean Up Your Facebook Profile

Facebook is a great way to stay connected with friends, but it’s not always the best choice for highlighting what makes you such a great candidate for admission to college, especially if your profile is littered with inappropriate pictures, juvenile language, and other content that makes you look like, well, a high school student.

When considering an application, admissions officers want to see that students are ready for the responsibility of college, from the work load of college courses to the stresses of living in communal dorms. If your Facebook profile implies irresponsibility, an admissions officer will be more likely to pass you up for another candidate.

Oh, and if you don’t think that an admissions officer can see your profile, think again. According to a study from the University of Massachusetts Center for Market Research, 26% of college admissions officers use search engines to research candidates and that number is swiftly rising. If you keep your social networking websites open in any way, there is a strong chance that someone other than your intended audience will see it.

2. Make Your Blog Work For You

Besides doing damage control on your social networking profiles, there are steps that you can take to proactively demonstrate to college admissions officers your value as an applicant. Were you a terrific art student in school? Set up an online portfolio of your art work. Did you wow your teacher with a short story? Share your creativity on your blog. Are you active in your community? Take a few words to describe your volunteer work and share some pictures.

There are plenty of free blogging platforms on the web that can help you share your good works with the world and you’d be doing yourself a disservice to ignore them. When an admissions officer Googles your name, they should find something worthwhile. So, give it to them.

3. Engage With Your Preferred College Online

More and more, colleges are entering the wide world of social media to engage with potential applicants and showcase their campuses. What’s great about this trend is that it allows for two-way communication between college representatives and applicants. If you become a fan of your preferred college on Facebook, or if you follow them on Twitter, you are increasing your chances of connecting with someone who actually knows something about the admissions process.

Just as job seekers must distinguish themselves from their competition, when you’re competing against thousands of other applicants, you should give yourself every edge possible. Communicating with a representative of your preferred college in a friendly and professional manner may help you form a relationship that can influence your acceptance decision.

There’s no reason why you should have to sit on the sidelines while your fate is being decided. If you haven’t heard back from your college yet, take some proactive measures to get your name out there. Hopefully, if you play your cards right, you can swing the decision in your favor. Oh, and one more thing, once you do get into college, don’t fall back into the same old bad habits. Sooner or later, you’re going to have to start your career, and when that happens, the same things that tripped you up getting into college could trip you up finding a job.

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Happy Friday ReputationDefender readers! Before you set off to enjoy the weekend, check out our Reputation Management, Internet Privacy, and Social Media Quick Hits. Today, we’re talking about “True” Twitter users, Google’s history of privacy problems, and whether anyone cares about privacy anymore anyways (they do, by the way). Enjoy!

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Facebook Demands Ex-Detective to Reveal Name of Unsafe Social Networking Website

Facebook is considering suing the Daily Mail after the UK newspaper ran a story implying that it was their website that an ex-detective was talking about when he claims to have received sexual solicitations after establishing a fake account under the guise of a 14-year-old girl. For the most part, Facebook just wants the detective to come out and say what social networking website he was using so that they can step out from underneath the criticism, but the detective has refused to say, explaining that if he does, it’ll open the flood gates for predators.

White Sox Manager Ozzie Guillen Can Have Twitter, But Not His Own Website

Chicago White Sox fans cringed when Ozzie Guillen, the team’s famously hot-headed manager, announced that he had created a Twitter account. Now, at least they won’t have to worry about him going on random tirades on his very own website. According to this article from ESPN, the White Sox organization declined Guillen’s request to have a personal website. To his credit, Guillen didn’t seem to upset by the decision saying, “the front-office people didn’t want to have me in the middle of stuff, and I have to respect that.” You can’t blame the White Sox for looking out for their online reputation.

“True” Twitter Users Only Make Up 21% of the Twitter Userbase

According to a report from Barracuda Networks, only 21% of Twitter users are “True Twitter Users,” meaning that they have at least 10 followers, follow 10 people, and have updated their status with at least 10 tweets. Given Twitter’s rapid rise in prominence, these are pretty amazing statistics. We’ve seen other stats that show how top-heavy Twitter is, but it’s interesting to learn that 74% of Twitter users have less than 10 followers. One possibility suggested in the report for the rise in Twitter users without a substantial increase in quality of users is the “Celebrity Effect,” whereby individuals establish Twitter accounts just to follow their favorite celebrities.

Exploring Google’s History of Privacy Problems

Google is in a unique position in the Internet industry. The company is so large, so successful, and so widely used that every move it makes is bound to trigger a response from the public. Unfortunately, especially lately, many of these responses have been negative. In an article for CNNMoney, David Goldman outlines Google’s history of privacy problems from old concerns like data mining and behavioral advertising to newer issues like the Google Buzz fiasco.

Is it True That “No One Cares About Privacy Anymore”?

In an article for CNET, Declan McCullagh explains “why no one cares about privacy anymore.” While we would disagree with McCullagh (people may not care about privacy, but they certainly care about control over their own image), he raises some interesting points about online exhibitionism, the rise of social networking websites, and how privacy rights organizations have a history of complaining about Internet products that eventually become widely adopted.

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Apple iPhone Will Let Users Unlock Doors?

With your Apple iPhone you can listen to music, watch movies, play games, and, soon enough, even unlock your doors. In a newly published patent application, Apple revealed plans for what some are already calling the iKey, which would use a pin code to unlock electronic locks in a user’s car, home, or office.

PleaseRobMe.com helped show the social media world the folly of using location-based social networking websites when you were away from your home, but Gowalla and Foursquare may be the least of your worries if someone can steal your iPhone and have keys to your home. For its part, Apple has included security features that could trigger an alarm for unauthorized use of the iKey.

UK Government Pushes Facebook for ‘Panic Button’

Following the murder of 17-year-old Ashleigh Hall by a man whom she met on Facebook, the UK government is pushing Facebook and other social networking websites to include a “panic button” that would help users get immediate law enforcement assistance if they believe they are being victimized. Facebook first discussed the possibility of adding a panic button, similar to the kind found on the social networking website Bebo, back in December.

Conan O’Brien Invited to the Wedding of his New Best Friend on Twitter

After turning 19-year-old Sarah Killen into an Internet celebrity overnight by selecting her as the first person that he would follow on Twitter, Conan O’Brien has received an invitation to join Killen and her fiance John Slowik, Jr. at their wedding. Considering the positive response that Conan has gotten for his interaction with Killen thus far, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him don a tux and make a speech for the young couple. In fact, he could probably turn it into a web-only video special. Who needs The Tonight Show, right?

Twitter Takes on Phishing Scams

As Twitter has grown, so too has the website’s phishing problem. In particular, the recent spate of “Is this you?” direct message phishing attacks have prompted Twitter to rexamine how it’s protecting users from scammers. After analyzing the problem, Twitter has come up with a few fixes that they hope will make it harder for phishing attacks to spread. For one thing, Twitter will be rerouting all direct messages through its anti-phishing service before allowing them to be sent. Also, Twitter will be replacing bit.ly and other short URLs with their own, twit.tl, to signify that the link is secure.

Classmates.com Faces Privacy Lawsuit

In an attempt to play catch up with Facebook, Classmates.com opened up its public content to sharing on other social networking websites. Ironically, this move did help Classmates.com did catch up with Facebook in one way; now, both websites are facing class-action privacy lawsuits. According to Wired, the lawsuit alleges that Classmates.com switched their privacy policy so egregiously that they have violated Washington state and federal laws. Here is a PDF of the suit – http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/threatlevel/2010/03/classmates.pdf.

Job Hunters Struggle to Get Past the Automatic Job Application

This article from the Miami Herald discusses the frustration that job seekers have in applying for jobs through websites and in-store kiosks instead of through pen and paper applications. When applying for a job online, there are a number of preset filters that make it impossible for many job seekers to even get their application seen. This makes the job hunting process seem futile and causes some people to give up on themselves. One of the things that could help individuals who are unemployed cut through the clutter and connect directly with an employer is proactive personal branding online.

Sites such as LinkedIn and Twitter offer valuable networking possibilities for users that understand how they work. Additionally, setting up a blog can help you get your name out there and distinguish yourself as a respected voice in your industry.

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What would you say if I told you that a few misguided tweets or a hacked Facebook account could cost you millions of dollars? As the 2010 NFL Draft approaches, this is the unfortunate reality that many hopeful draft prospects are facing.

In a very well-written and deeply researched article for FootballOutsiders.com, Mike Tanier makes the argument that NFL prospects have no privacy and that even the most minute indiscretions online could cost them a higher spot in the draft, meaning a lower salary and a lower chance of picking up endorsement deals.

Tanier even goes so far as to outline a few eerily plausible scenarios in which players could get burned, both through their own fault and through sabotage.

Quoting from the article:

• A star college quarterback sends a text message to five friends, bragging about his performance against a rival school. One of the friends forwards it to another set of friends, and one of them sends it to a few other people. The message finds its way to the blogosphere, then to ESPN. Soon football fans around the Internet are questioning the quarterback’s character and judgment for “distributing” inflammatory bulletin board material.
• An angry crank with an axe to grind against a top defensive prospect searches the Internet for dirt on his prey. An ordinary Google search turns up not just public data, but postings from the defender’s Twitter and Facebook accounts. The crank establishes an anti-prospect Web site, mixing out-of-context postings with some facts and a sprinkle of innuendo. Maybe he goes a step further, impersonating the player on a phony Twitter account and tweeting vitriol to a confused public. The line between what’s real and what’s fabricated is blurred by reporters and draftniks, who inadvertently cite some of the false or highly distorted information. The prospect’s reputation is tarnished by a cyber-smear campaign. By the time he realizes it, the damage is already done.
• A team hires an investigator to check out the top prospect in the draft, and the investigator isn’t above bending a few laws. In addition to standard background checks, he calls in a few favors with major Internet advertisers. He suddenly has access to the prospect’s “clickstream” information, a full record of the athlete’s browsing and chatting proclivities. Chat sessions at 3 a.m., just hours before kickoff? The general manager may find that interesting. Perhaps a GPS search of the player’s iPhone will provide other revelations …

As a professional athlete, you must live in the public eye. This hard truth is even more apparent in the face of the Tiger Woods scandal. However, these draft prospects are not yet professionals. By and large, they’re just regular college kids who don’t understand the long-term ramifications of their actions online. What’s more, they have grown up in a world where the Internet and digital technology is omnipresent. The thought that something they share on Twitter could be used against them often does not occur until it is too late.

That’s not to say that NFL teams are wrong for using the Internet to research players. To the contrary, if they are going to invest millions of dollars into a player, they have a fiduciary duty to research his past behavior and ensure that he is not going to cause any problems for the team in the future. Just as a recruiter might do a Google search of a job candidate, an NFL scout is going to dig deep to find out whether a player will be a good fit. The difference is, if an NFL prospect is pegged as a bad apple, he’ll not only lose millions of dollars in the draft, but may have to carry that reputation with him for the rest of his career.

Here at the ReputationDefender Blog, we frequently talk about online reputation management for everyday professionals. Whether you’re a dentist, contractor, realtor, or lawyer, it is important to monitor your name online and take proactive measures to establish a strong professional brand. When you look at professional athletes, however, these issues become even more critical. Hopefully, players learn the importance of online reputation management before it’s too late.

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