Entries from January 2011 ↓
January 24th, 2011 | Facebook, Online Reputation Management, Privacy, Quick Hits, Research, Social Networking | Rob Frappier
In today’s Quick Hits, the Pope gives social media technology his blessing (with an important catch), Politico details the possible privacy legislation coming from Congress in 2011, and we look at some research about the “most blocked” websites.
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In a recent message to Catholics around the world, Pope Benedict XVI gave his blessing to social media, saying, “I would like then to invite Christians, confidently and with an informed and responsible creativity, to join the network of relationships which the digital era has made possible.” However, Pope Benedict also made sure to clarify that digital relationships are not meant to replace real human interactions.
In its annual report. Open DNS shared that the “most blocked” website of 2010 was Facebook, which was blacklisted by 14 percent of companies. The popular social networking website can be a boon for branding and communications, but it can also hurt productivity among employees. In another interesting finding, the Open DNS report repealed that PayPal was spoofed the most often by phishers (46 percent of identified phishing sites), with Facebook coming in at a distant second (5 percent of identified phishing sites).
Palestinian journalist Mamdouh Hamamreh found himself in handcuffs recently when, according to an Associated Press report, he “was falsely labeled in an image mocking Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas by superimposing his likeness into a picture of a well-known Syrian soap opera villain.” According to AllFacebook’s write-up of the incident, “Hamamreh explained that he was detained by police authorities just a few hours after being tagged in said photo. Again, and according to him, he hadn’t taken the picture or uploaded it, and his face wasn’t in it. He didn’t even tag himself. After being held up in a Palestinian lock-up for 50 days, he was released in November and faces trial next month.”
Responding to growing concern over Internet tracking, Mozilla is contemplating adding a feature to Firefox 4 that would protect users from being tracked by targeted Internet ads. A month and a half ago, Microsoft announced that it would include a Do Not Track feature in its upcoming Internet Explorer 9 browser.
In an article for Politico, Tony Romm writes that online privacy will be one of the most important legislative items on the agenda for Congress in 2011. Romm details some of the major players in the Internet privacy debate, and goes into detail on Senator John Kerry’s likely upcoming privacy legislation.
January 21st, 2011 | Facebook, Google, Legal Issues, Online Reputation Management, Parenting, Privacy, Quick Hits, Student Online Reputation | Rob Frappier
In today’s Quick Hits, we talk about Facebook security, another tragic case of suicide related to cyberbullying, and how online privacy is shaping up as an issue in the new Congress.
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After a Sophos security report claimed that hackers and spammers are gaining ground on Facebook and releasing more effective malware, Facebook responded by defending its security strategies and clarified that, when taking volume into account, less than three percent of Facebook communications could be classified as spam.
One freshman Missouri legislator had her reputation called into question when a hacker accessed her Facebook account and posted an embarrassing status message. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “the Facebook page for Rep. Donna Lichtenegger, R-Jackson, displayed a message yesterday naming gifts from lobbyists as one of the things she likes most about her new job. ‘I love lobbyist! (sic) All the free food and stuff you get. This job is awesome!’ the post read.”
Before Lichtenegger was able to take the message down, several political blogs picked up on the status update and spun it into a story, demonstrating how quickly a reputation attack can spread online.
According to the Yahoo News website, Advocate.com, “Kameron Jacobsen, a 14-year-old from Orange County, New York, took his own life because of Facebook taunts about his perceived sexual orientation, according to sources.” The issue of cyberbullying has taken on significant resonance in recent years with the suicides of numerous high school and college-aged teens. Many states are now beginning to create laws offering enhanced punishment for cyberbullies.
According to a Clickz report, “Facebook has been testing a fifth ad placement on photo pages…the company is apparently seeing if it can squeeze in another paid promotion above the fold on the right-hand side of its site design.” Facebook’s primary revenue generator is advertising, so it’s no surprise to see the company adding more ads to the site. The question is, how will users react to seeing more ads on a social network that is noted for its clutter-free aesthetic.
The city council of Huntington Beach, California recently voted down a measure that would post the photos of repeat drunk driving offenders on the city’s Facebook page. In this blog post for Time Magazines Techland blog, Allie Townsend debates the city’s decision and examines the consequences of shaming criminals online.
With Eric Schmidt stepping down as CEO of Google, what direction will the company take on the sensitive issue of privacy? In a blog post for the Huffington Post, Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog, analyzes Schmidt’s tenure as Google CEO and speculates about the company’s future positions on privacy.
According to AdWeek.com, “Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W. Va., outlined his committee’s priorities for the new session. Topping the list are, among other things, online privacy and consumer protection.” The issue of online privacy has been predicted to be a popular bipartisan issue, which will likely make it a top concern in the House of Representatives as well.
January 20th, 2011 | Google | Rob Frappier
Google sent shockwaves through the tech industry today with the announcement that longtime CEO Eric Schmidt was stepping down from his position, with Google co-founder Larry Page as his replacement. In an effort to simplify management structure, Schmidt will now serve in the role of Executive Chairman. Page’s co-founder Sergey Brin will simply take the title Co-Founder and remain working on behind-the-scenes innovation for the company.
During Schmidt’s 10 year tenure as Google CEO, the company grew from a little known search tool to one of, if not the most, powerful leaders in the Internet industry. The company turns billions of dollars in profits each year, boasts thousands of employees worldwide, and continues to maintain an influential voice in tech policy at all levels of government.
What effect Schmidt’s departure as CEO will have on the company is still unknown, though I’m sure many very smart people are already digging deep to offer analysis of the decision and its potential impact on Google’s future. One thing we can know for sure, however, is that few people have been as influential in the debate over privacy and Internet technology than Eric Schmidt.
As a proper send-off for Schmidt, we wanted to share this interesting post from John Paczkowski at All Things D. Cleverly titled “Talking Schmidt,” the article recounts some of Schmidt’s influential decisions and philosophies in his own words, including some of his faux-pas on the subject of privacy. We hope you enjoy that link, and we wish Eric Schmidt the best in his new position as Executive Chairman.
January 20th, 2011 | Facebook, Google, Online Reputation Management, Parenting, Privacy, Quick Hits, Student Online Reputation, Twitter | Rob Frappier
In today’s Quick Hits, we share two different examples of inappropriate Facebook shenanigans, talk about a new Twitter worm, and go over some research on Internet users.
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High School Student Suspended After Ranking Girls’ Looks on Facebook Page
An Oak Park, Illinois, high school student was suspended from school after using Facebook to make a list of the 50 most attractive girls in his high school, along with their alleged sexual promiscuity. The student also printed out the list and shared it around the school. He has made similar lists in the past, once getting expelled, and will face expulsion again for this incident.
Police Department Investigates Photoshopped Images of Officers on Facebook
Berkley city officials are investigating images of several city police officers that were photoshopped into compromising situations and shared on Facebook. According to the Detroit Free Press, “a review of the site found that one photo shows officers’ faces, apparently pasted electronically, atop the almost nude male physiques of three men in bondage-style attire, one with body piercings. Another shows a officer in different bondage-style attire. Yet another puts officers’ heads in the place of rock-music stars from the Village People group in a mock version of one of their album covers.” According to city managers, the photos were created by another public safety officer as a gag on his personal Facebook page.
Internet Use Linked to Higher Activity Levels
Contrary to the popular notion that too much technology turns people into bleary-eyed zombies, a recent Pew Internet Survey revealed that “80 percent of Internet users participate in groups, compared with 56 percent of non-Internet users” and that “social media users (Facebook, etc.,) are even more likely to be active: 82 percent of social network users and 85 percent of Twitter users are group participants.”
Hardware 2.0: “Facebook Privacy Settings Are Garbage”
In a strongly worded rant on his ZDNet blog Hardware 2.0, tech journalist Adrian Kingsley-Hughes explains why he hates using Facebook and how the site’s frequently changing privacy policies make it practically impossible for average Internet users to protect their data online. In the comments to the article, one individual makes the good point that rather than worrying about the privacy of Facebook, you should simply consider the website public and subsequently monitor what you share online.
Twitter Worm Uses Google URL Shortener to Spread Malware
According to ZDNet, “A fast-moving Twitter worm is in circulation, using Google’s goo.gl redirection service to push unsuspecting users to a notorious scareware (fake anti-virus) malware campaign. At 8:45 a.m EST today, this Twitter search shows thousands of Twitter messages continuing to spread the worm.”
January 19th, 2011 | Privacy, Reputation.com News | Rob Frappier
Reputation.com Chief Operating Officer Owen Tripp will appear as a guest alongside other experts in Internet privacy this Wednesday, January 26th, to talk about location-based social networking and privacy for the Churchill Club.
The program, entitled Location & Privacy: Where Are We Headed?, features a host of notable Internet and privacy experts including Laura Berger, FTC Attorney in the Division of Privacy and Identity Protection; Jim Dempsey, Vice President for Public Policy at the Center for Democracy & Technology; and Brendon Lynch, the Chief Privacy Officer for Microsoft. The panel will be moderated by Melissa Parrish, Research Analyst for Forrester Research.
Check below for more information about the event as well as details on how you can get $15 off of your registration.
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Date: Wed., January 26, 2011
Place: Parc 55 Wyndham Hotel, 55 Cyril Magnin Street, San Francisco, CA
Schedule: 5:30 p.m. Registration and general reception
6:00 p.m. Banquet
7:00 p.m. Program begins
8:30 p.m. Program concludes
Discussion Content:
Location-based technologies such as Facebook Places, Foursquare, Twitter, Loopt, mobile search, GPS services and others are innovative and transformative, with huge potential benefits for both consumers and businesses. These and other new technologies and services that track, analyze, and share our movements in the public sphere are already woven into our everyday existence.
As use of location-aware tools increase around the globe, what are the privacy implications for users? Will consumers be expected to take responsibility for their own locational privacy and reputation? What role will the government play in protecting consumer privacy, without severely hampering the economic potential of this market? What privacy-enhancing technologies are emerging that will enable consumers to choose how their personal information is shared? Join the conversation as this distinguished panel explores what’s new and what’s next with location-based services and privacy.
RSVP:
By Monday, 1/25. Use code gLBS15 for $15 off the non-member rate. Register at http://bit.ly/hFYbha, write to info@churchillclub.org, or call 408.265.0130.
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This is a tremendous opportunity to hear about one of the fastest-emerging Internet technologies from some of the tech industry’s most knowledgeable voices. If you are in the San Francisco Bay Area, we would love to see you there. For more information on registering for the event, follow this link.
