Posts Tagged Facebook
Privacy in the Information Age
Posted by Scott Andrews in Tech Trends on July 29, 2010
An IT developer recently compiled a list of 100 million Facebook users and posted it to BitTorrent for sharing. Much was made of this “security breach” (Facebook denied a “security breach” since all data compiled was publicly available anyway). What was it that was listed? Any profile information made public, such as your name, location, and your list of friends. This is public on my Facebook profile so I assume I am on the list.
Now virtually all my Facebook information is restricted to friends only, including pictures and posts. Only my friends list and a restricted personal profile are shown to non-friends. But if I remove this, I would be rendered virtually invisible on Facebook, and what would be the point of that? This is public information precisely so I can be discovered on Facebook by lost acquaintances. I have found at numerous acquaintances that I had lost contact with for more than ten years in this way. The purpose of Facebook is to be discovered. But I restrict everything else to friends.
Conversely, virtually of my LinkedIn information is totally public. Why the difference? One is to share privately with friends, the other is to build my career which requires exposure to the greater world.
In short, the information I provide is given to better myself. One so I can be found in a world-wide directory, and the other so I can increase business contacts and share my professional experience.
Similarly, the Canadian census can be seen in a similar light. Data given to Statistics Canada is used to improve our communities, our cities, and our country. It is used in urban planning, such as the location of new schools and hospitals. It is used when determining where to start a business, or a found a new place of worship, or a new job training program. To refuse to be counted is to literally not count in your community. It’s like not voting. You are only hurting yourself.
However, when a government argues that a census is a) unnecessarily intrusive, b) a tedious and academic exercise in futility, or c) a secret nefarious plot by shadowy yet unnamed enemies-of-freedom, they are both demonizing and belittling the data collection process itself. Such action will result not only in a drop in confidence in any attempted voluntary census but will also erode confidence in Canada’s public institutions. And that hurts all of us.
We live in the information age. It’s time the Government of Canada recognizes that.
Going Rogue: Facebook and Data Privacy
Posted by Scott Andrews in Information Technology on May 26, 2010
A number of years ago, when our first child was born, we placed an announcement in the newspaper like good dutiful new parents. What we got in return was a bunch of calls from financial planners pitching education savings plans. Needless to say we did not announce the births of any of our other children in this way. What might look like smart, targeted marketing to some can come across as cheap, offensive, underhanded and even a bit sleazy. And I ask myself this week “Is this the future of Facebook marketing?”
When Facebook ads first came out, I was astonished at how untargeted they were. Work-from-home, date sites and cheap loans were the order of the day. Eventually you could vote for or against these ads, but even this appeared to have little impact on what actually appeared. I quickly tuned out and scarcely notice Facebook ads anymore at all.
What is far more effective, in my opinion, is the targeted search results that come back on Google. I am actually looking for something, and Google helps the marketers find me. It is a win-win. It is not intrusive or invasive, at least not the way I see it.
Facebook users signed up to share with online friends. In contrast, Facebook wants to open the data up to reap a fortune in mining personal data for marketing purposes. The crux of the matter is that Facebook and its users have diametrically opposed views of what the intended use and audience of all this data is meant to be. This is a circle not easily squared. How Facebook navigates these treacherous waters will indeed decide its future.
