Tag Archives: privacy

Aug26

The Privacy Issue – Social Networking

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The Privacy Issue – Social Networking

Earlier I blogged that I was in “social networking overload” and I meant it and mean it.  There is a definite series of advantages to Social Networking, and a definite series of DIS-advantages.  First and foremost is the control factor for PRIVACY.

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/13/steering-between-unsocial-networks-and-social-spam/ The NYTimes Blog “Bits” talks about this eloquently.  And I will add a few of my pennies worth of opinion as well.

I do a lot of things, vocationally and alternatively, I do not always want all of my various skills and/or projects lumped together for the viewing pleasure of “whomever”.  My true circle of friends know that I am active in a variety of diverse interests, but a prospective client/employer may not want or need to know if I am an active amateur screenwriter or not. 

In fact it might hinder one’s employment possibilities if one was an avid skydiver and the firm looking at the profile was averse to risk-takers. (This is a hypothetical ONLY).  And believe me, many companies DO google and search on Social Network sites to see what you have been up to.  It would be good to be able to set up conditions for what people are able to see in the public arena, and levels of what people can see in the private arena. 

Some Social Networking Sites are looking in to how to do that, but just as for allowing communication – the whole ability to control who sees what and who can talk to whom, is a big issue.  And a techno-challenge.  Security is in the eye of the beholder, and we also have to figure out how to protect those who are too young to understand the predatory nature of some of our fellow humans.

It is a conundrum, and I am excited to see how it will be addressed.  In the meantime, remember “be careful out there”.

Aug8

Social Network Overload

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Social Network Overload

I think I have officially crossed the line of sanity with regards to Social Networking Sites.  I need a “Social Network Secretary” just to keep track of them all.  And I know I am not making best use of them – I’m not “working” them like the master networkers do.

If you think I am exaggerating here is a partial list of the sites I belong to, who are either self-proclaimed Social Networking Sites or have evolved in that direction:

  1. Plaxo
  2. Linkedin (and several subgroups of Linkedin)
  3. Brightfuse
  4. Myspace
  5. Facebook
  6. Brijj
  7. Ning (and several subgroups of Ning)
  8. Salesconx
  9. TooStep
  10. Konnects
  11. Xing
  12. Jigsaw
  13. GoodTree
  14. YourCause

I am drowning in emails asking for connections, adds, or to help find someone to fill an open job req.  And I am overloaded.  I love the concept, I do.  I just need to figure out how to manage it all.  And to that end, I invite suggestions and comments.

One must remember that even though they use the word “Social” in their descriptions and often have a lot of “Social” activity – the sites were meant to fill a functional need.  The tools are not universally compatible.  They allow you to plunder your MS Outlook contact list, but are not very easily downloaded back to that list (for example I fried the motherboard of my favorite laptop last winter and would have greatly benefited from being able to recreate my contact list on my new laptop). Some of the lists give you a certain amount of privacy, others let it all hang out – so to speak.

The members are as varied as the applications – some are avid “collectors” of connections – some do not respond to polite inquiry of any kind. 

At some point I expect that there will be a collapse of the sites, and one or two major players will emerge.  But I don’t think it will be the big guys that are in the ring right now… somewhere someone with a fresh approach and the ability to accommodate a variety of true networking needs will rise to the occasion and blow the others out of the water.

In the meantime, I am grateful for my rolodex – which is how I still keep track of my website memberships and passwords even in this electronic age.  I will continue to slog through the sites, looking for my Xanadu of networking.

ADDENDUM: 8/26/08 – http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/13/steering-between-unsocial-networks-and-social-spam/ This is the other big issue with Social Networking…well, one of the other issues.