Entries Tagged 'Privacy' ↓

Couples Air Their Dirty Laundry on Facebook

Who needs a marriage counselor when you have Facebook? At least that’s the thinking for many couples who use the site as a way to share their private arguments in public. An article from the New York Times discusses why some couple use Facebook to air their grievances with their spouse, mostly to air “their side of the story” as if Facebook were a court of public opinion, but it also cautions that sharing arguments online is a good way to lose the support of friends and family, which can then weaken the relationship further.

Facebook Has “No Objection” to Panic Button

According to the BBC, Facebook has told British government officials that the company has no objection to installing a “panic button” to help users report sexual predators. The “panic button” discussion intensified recently with the murder of 17-year-old Ashleigh Hall, who met her killer on Facebook. Facebook will enter more serious discussions about the safety feature on April 12th.

Outgoing FTC Commissioner Criticizes Facebook and Google

In a blistering indictment of Internet companies such as Google and Facebook, Pamela Jones Harbour, the outgoing commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission, said “Even the most respected and popular online companies, the ones who claim to respect privacy, continue to launch products where the guiding privacy policy seems to be, ‘Throw it up against the wall and see if it sticks.’”

Harbour went on to say, “I realize that companies continue to take a testing-the-water approach to privacy because no regulatory agency has sent a clear message that this behavior is unacceptable. I would like to see the commission take the position of intolerance toward companies that push the privacy envelop, then backtrack and modify their offerings after facing consumer and regulator backlash.”

While her comments do not reflect the official position of the FTC, they are a strong reminder that government regulators haven’t completely rolled over on the issue of consumer privacy, which is definitely a good thing for consumers.

How Much Information Do You Share Online?

In a follow-up post to an article in yesterday’s New York Times about privacy online, Katherine Schulten asks students to consider their social networking profiles and whether or not they’re giving too much personal information away. Sharing too much information online can open up the possibility of identity theft and other cyber crimes that can cause significant reputation damage.

Massive Spam Run Hits Facebook

From PCWorld: “Facebook’s 400 million users have been targeted by a spam run that could infect their computers with malicious software designed to steals passwords and other data, according to security researchers at McAfee.” If you get an e-mail from Facebook saying that they have reset your password and you must download a file to retrieve it, do not open the file. Facebook will never automatically reset your password for you, they will require you to go through a process to change it. That is how you know that this is a spam attack.

Why You HAVE to Talk to Your Kids About Online Privacy

In an article for St. Louis Today, Dr. Bob Wilmott discusses why parents should talk to their kids about the Internet. From the article: “Are children mature enough to make good decisions about their online privacy? Most experts think that kids are smart enough by their early teens to know what, and who, to avoid. Younger kids, though, need more parental supervision — for instance, parents should make sure their children’s accounts are set to provide as little personal information as possible, and that their activity can be seen only by confirmed friends.”

With MyChild from ReputationDefender, we can help you monitor your child’s activity online by providing customized monthly reports tracking their name on the web. To learn more about MyChild, call one of our experienced Online Reputation Management Consultants today at 1-888-720-3332.

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Facebook Improves Search Capabilities

Recently, Facebook improved its search experience even more by providing a drop-down menu of suggestions for users based on what they’re typing in. This may not seem like a big deal, but it’s an important improvement for the Facebook user experience. While Facebook may have been able to eclipse Google in site visits last week, the website has a long way to go before it can compete seriously with Google on search. That is to say, Facebook can’t compete in pure search. With social search, however, it’s a different story. While Google has waded into the social waters with Google Buzz and other tools, Facebook’s large userbase allows it to search through millions of user profiles, fan pages, Facebook groups, and more, allowing for a more personalized search experience.

Mafia Hitman Tracked Down Through Facebook

An Italian mafia hitman, Pasquale “Scarface” Manfredi, was tracked down by Italian authorities through Facebook. The man was on Italy’s 100 Most Wanted List and is wanted in connection with multiple murders. According to the story, “Manfredi would log on under the Facebook name Georgie. Officers said they believed he received coded orders via the site and also kept in touch with mobsters. Manfredi had more than 200 friends on his Facebook site and police are going through them systematically to see if any others are involved in Mafia activity or are wanted.”

Miley Cyrus Warns Kids About the Dangers of the Web

If you can’t convince your kids that they shouldn’t be sharing their life on Twitter, maybe Disney’s Miley Cyrus can help. Cyrus, who made headlines for removing herself from Twitter many months ago, recently advised kids, “Don’t go on the Internet. It’s dangerous, it’s not fun, it wastes your life and you should be outside playing sports or something.” While the majority of kids won’t be subjected to the same kind of media scrutiny as Cyrus, she has a good point. Overuse of the Internet can be dangerous for kids, or anyone for that matter, and that’s not even going into the reputation risk of sharing too much of your life online.

David Greenfield Recaps Privacy Concerns at SXSW

In a recap of the South by Southwest technology conference, David Greenfield recalls some of the privacy-related issues that came up, particularly concerns around Google, Facebook, and Foursquare.

New York Times Discusses the Problem of Privacy

The general understanding of privacy data is that in small forms it may be difficult to form an accurate image of someone, but if you look at massive data sets, you can begin to draw generalizations, which can then be broken down into specific identifiers. This well-researched and well-written article from the New York Times discusses the problem of privacy online and how seemingly insignificant data, such as movie preferences on Facebook, can be reinterpreted in conjunction with other data to form a “distinctive social signature” of an individual.

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In today’s Quick Hits, we learn again why you shouldn’t make threats (even joking threats) online and we question whether or not Twitter’s new @Anywhere technology can help it catch Facebook.

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Facebook is King of the Web (For a Whole Week!)

According to metrics firm Experian/Hitwise, Facebook barely edged out Google last week to become the most popular website in the United States. According to the statistics, Facebook claimed 7.07 percent of U.S. Internet visits, while Google claimed 7.03 percent. Facebook has topped Google on previous occasions, but it was always only a one day event. This is the first time Facebook has beaten Google over a longer period of time. Is this a sign of things to come? Perhaps. Either way, it’s a definite sign that you shouldn’t ignore your Facebook profile.

Is Twitter Taking on Facebook Connect?

Yesterday at SXSW, the tech world expected Twitter CEO Evan Williams to announce the company’s long-awaited advertising platform. Instead, Williams unveiled Twitter’s new @Anywhere technology, which allows for Twitter functionality to be transported from Twitter to a third-party website such as the New York Times. Many in the tech press, including Caroline McCarthy at CNET, are asking if this move from Twitter is an attempt to overtake the massive popularity of Facebook Connect, the Facebook log-in tool that is now active on over 80,000 third-party sites.

Feds Use Phishing Tactics to Catch Criminals

In a somewhat refreshing twist on Internet crime, federal investigators are using phishing techniques, such as the establishment of phony social networking profiles, to coax information out of crime suspects. While there is concern from some privacy groups about the legality of investigating in this matter and the rights of the defendant, the Justice Department says that these tactics are legal under current undisclosed rules.

Are We Really Ready for Location-Based Ads?

While we’ve already pondered the safety aspects of location-based social networking, one thing we haven’t considered is the sheer annoyance of location-based advertising. In a post at his Tech Inciter blog, David Coursey discusses what location-based mobile ads might look like and how they could be a huge pain if not executed carefully.

Man Arrested Over Online Threat

A Chicago-area man was arrested after an out-of-state friend called the police over what he perceived to be a dangerous threat online. The man claims his Facebook update, which read “Mike Sullivan is again ready to start killing indiscriminately. I’m going to put Vernon Hills on the freakin map,” was simply him venting and that he’s been under a lot of stress because he’s working three jobs. Even if that’s true, however, it was probably not a good thing to share online, and it’s hard to blame his friend from alerting the authorities.

This story is not one of a kind and echos other social media slip-ups that got law enforcement attention, such as the man who was banned for life from a British airport over joking about blowing it up on Twitter. In order to prevent yourself from ending up on a terrorist watch list, think about what you’re saying online and don’t share anything that could be construed as a threat, no matter how clear you might think it is that it’s a joke.

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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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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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