Social Networking and Privacy

Social Networking is a new medium, and as such, we are not always certain what to make of it, what potential it holds, for good or ill. My belief is that I should always have the ability to maintain my information in a manner that makes it available to the smallest subset of users, and gives me full control over that subset. Likely, over time, most of us will find that allowing broader access, linking, etc., will provide large benefits, and we will realize that in most (if not all) instances we will not be compromising ourselves in any way. Concurrently, laws to define the use that we can expect of the data that we publish will be written, and we will not find ourselves at a disadvantage to the corporations that want to benefit from the information we publish and the correlations they can draw (correlation to improve their marketing.)

That said, nothing, and I mean nothing, that you publish on the internet is private: If you have placed it on the network, it exists in multiple locations, and if it appears to be worth the effort, it can and will be found. If you don't want your mother , spouse, children, or future spouse to read it, do not publish it.

Which is a danger that we don't consider. Each piece of info that we publish may be innocuous by itself, but taken together, if it places you in the right subset, you can become a target. It is for this very reason that my employer is terrified of Facebook and its cousins - they see only dark alleys filled with intellectual property criminals waiting to pounce; To get the unwary employee to reveal company secrets.

I've seen some pretty powerful graphing tools that can draw correlations across wide swaths of data - so I'm not talking the hypothetical, here. I've also brainstormed with co-workers ways your data could be used to get you to pay more for the products you are purchasing, especially if you use internet coupons. We've also talked about how, taken out of context, what you write or photograph might prove deleterious when applying for a job or volunteer position (since, once again, the media behind the publishing can so easily be altered to make it appear that it hasn't been taken out of context, or make the context uncertain.)

So, I think the lesson here is to think before publishing, and always be a little wary, but on the balance, like everything we do: Get out and do it and enjoy, because paranoia will make you isolated, lonely, and probably bitter.

And, in no way, do those qualities make you a better citizen or member of society.