In the rush to implement these services and quickly get value from them the public happily ticked a checkbox saying “Allow my personal data to be used” which were part of the terms of service. In itself a baby step from the previous way in which data had been sold as a commodity. Yet by it has become clear the proper checks and balances may not have been in place.
The apathy to data security among the general population is currently far more dangerous than many of the services who have access to that data. I have never been a fearful chap, nor do I intend to be. If anything this is a dose of good old fashioned mundane reality. Nothing is perfect & no matter how much facebook or twitter fend off privacy concerns they are not held to account in the same way the banking sector is for example.
The fact is that the pressure on these new behemoths of Social Media is tiny in comparison to the overwhelming amount of support they are getting from Venture Capital & Investors. The public too are happy in a world where these services have real value and no cost. Perhaps then, that is why we find it so easy to look the other way.
At some point in the not too distant future, we are going to have to answer the question. Do we value privacy; at all? In real terms it won’t be around forever, and in general the trend has been a useful one. Chris Brogan notes that Trust Agents thrive under public scrutiny & it can be a very profitable way to build your brand.
If we assumed (and its quite a leap) that everyone working for every Government agency and large Social Media outlet had the slightest inkling of temptation to use the masses of data they have access to. Even then, the door is open to massive amounts of Fraud & 3rd party mis-management. If anything companies using data poorly will likley be of more pain to the average Social Media user than abuse.
The fact remains however, the door is open for abuse. No matter how much we trust a company, it is on our own best interest to ensure we state emphatically what the boundaries are. Will we see Big Brother & Communism any time soon? No. Could this be a problem for you in your daily life if left unchecked? Yes.
What action can you / should you take? We all know a spam and phising email when we see one. It is similar learning curve with social media. Facebook gives you a certain degree of control over what other people can see. The key point is to stay informed. With geo-location Services I know where you are all the time, with facebook I know what parties you will attend and who with.
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