In today’s Quick Hits, we talk more about Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s apology and we get into the issue of “brandjacking” on Twitter.

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Zuckerberg Apologizes for Privacy Issues Again in E-mail to Robert Scoble

Mark Zuckerberg reiterated his comments from this morning’s Washington Post article in an e-mail to technology blogger and web celebrity Robert Scoble. The e-mail conversation, which Zuckerberg permitted Scoble to publish, strikes a slightly more personal tone. In it, Zuckerberg says, “I know we’ve made a bunch of mistakes, but my hope at the end of this is that the service ends up in a better place and that people understand that our intentions are in the right place and we respond to the feedback from the people we serve.”

Tech writers and bloggers have been among the most critical of Zuckerberg during this debate. Reaching out to a friend in Scoble was a smart move that might help the young CEO regain some of his credibility with his most adamant critics.

Tom Krazit’s Open Letter to Google

CNET columnist Tom Krazit writes an open letter to Google asking the company to come clean about why the company was collecting Wi-Fi data through its Street View cars. Specifically, Krazit asks Google to “publish a detailed account of why this Wi-Fi software was created, how it was allowed to permeate a high-profile Google project for several years, and what Google employees knew about the collection of this data.”

Considering that government investigators may soon be asking these same questions, perhaps it would be to Google’s benefit to clear up these issues now. After all, with Zuckerberg’s apology, they won’t be able to hide behind Facebook’s privacy problems anymore.

During PR Crisis, BP Gets Brandjacked on Twitter

BP is facing a PR disaster over a massive oil spill in the Gulf Coast and Twitter has become one of the company’s biggest enemies. This article from the Detroit Free Press shows how BP was “brandjacked” on Twitter when an unknown user created the account BPGlobalPR. The account, which purported to be PR reps from BP, has racked up over 7,000 followers while lobbing jokes at BP’s relief efforts and insinuating that the company has no regard for environmental issues. BP’s official PR twitter feed has only 4,000 followers.

This story shows how important it is for companies to maintain tight control over their online reputations. In the Internet age, social media tools are an important part of crisis communications planning.

‘Evil’ Facebook App Shares Phone Numbers

If you’ve been on Facebook for a long time, you may have seen or even participated in an event or group asking you to give your phone number because your friend lost or got a new phone. Now, a new Facebook application called Evil has taken all of those publicly shared numbers and turned them into a streaming website.

The creator of Evil, Tom Scott, made sure to keep the last four digits of the numbers blurred out, but that’s only because he’s a nice guy. With just a few simple adjustments, these phone numbers could be shared in plain public view for the world to see.