In today’s Quick Hits we learn why people are willing to give up their privacy online and how two people got in trouble for their digital lives.

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Was “Quit Facebook Day” a Success?

By most accounts, the widely reported “Quit Facebook Day” was a flop with only 30,000 users quitting the site out of more than 400 million total. PC World’s Tom Spring thinks that, despite the low number of participants, the stunt actually did succeed in drawing attention to Facebook’s privacy problem and serving as a call to action for the company to change its policies.

Yahoo Learns from Google/Facebook Privacy Mistakes

Yahoo is in the process of rolling out new social functionality for its popular Yahoo Mail product, and, according to TechCrunch, the company is determined to not make the same privacy mistakes as Google and Facebook. For one thing, that means clearly explaining to users what changes are happening before they happen. In an Internet landscape where privacy is often an afterthought, it’s a novel approach that should keep Yahoo out of the press.

Trading Digital Privacy for Discounted Prices

The New York Times has an interesting article discussing data privacy and how a number of new Internet start-up companies are pushing the envelope of what information they collect and share. The crux of the article is that these companies are explicit in asking for permission from customers to share data in exchange for something of value, typically a coupon or discount.

Catholic School Teacher Fired Over Atheist Website

A 26-year-old math teacher was fired from her job at a Catholic school after administrators discovered that she had joined an atheist website. The school’s official policy is that the teacher was fired for “advocating ‘principles contrary’ to the teachings of the church.” Setting aside whether you think the school was right in dismissing the teacher, the story provides a unique example of how an individual’s private web habits (she joined the website from her home computer on her own time) can affect their professional life.

Police Dispatcher Suspended Over Drug Joke on Facebook Page

A veteran police dispatcher was fired from her job for posting a comment about using illicit drugs on her Facebook profile. The dispatcher contended that the post was a clear joke and her union appealed her dismissal. Eventually, an arbitrator determined the termination was an overreaction and that a 30-day unpaid suspension was a more appropriate punishment. While the dispatcher has been able to keep her job so far, the incident is another reminder that what you share on Facebook doesn’t exist in a vacuum and that not everyone will understand your jokes.