Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Food for thought: Social Networking sites

I personally find social networking sites helpful in most ways. My lifestyle, I believe, compels me to join them. One in particular enthralls me and yes, you've guessed it, FB. Of my over 200 friends (yes, they are real friends I have interacted with in various degrees) in my network at the moment, more than 20 of them have sent me an invitation to join before I decided to see what the fuss is about.

I am very lazy (what else is new) in updating friends through email: where I live now, how the family is, etc, etc. Some are even surprised that I am alive and actually kicking...still. A couple of Aunts (one from Ireland and the other from Norway) decided that for their vacation, they would meet-up half-way (kind of) in Copenhagen and visit me at the same time. Great plan, except that they did not let me in on it. So, off they went to Copenhagen delighted that I will be pleasantly surprised - which I would normally be if I was actually there to surprise. Obviously, the plan backfired as months before we have already been expatriated to Kenya.

FB has been a tool for me to update my friends and family without feeling that I am imposing the information on them. The 'what do I care what you are doing now' rarely applies. In fact, I am always happy to know what my friends are doing as it makes me feel closer to them and when I see them, we actually have something to talk about. Awkward moments reduced and I manage to ask relevant questions mostly based on their status or shout outs. I feel less guilty not having remembered their birthdays as FB puts it right out smack into my face.

I believe I have become a better friend because of FB.

Having said that, I am very much aware that the venue is still the internet. Therefore, doubly aware of the information I put out there. Of the thousands of quizzes available to fill-up downtime, I have only taken a very few mundane ones....oh okay and played poker twice or so :-)

Hubby and son are on FB where we share many friends on top of having our own too. To qualify, we have always been a 'gadget' family with me heading the pack and being the computer and internet nerd, due to the industry I worked in. Given the knowledge of security applications and breaches, I have always set internet usage rules in the house and have never been remiss in reminding them of the perils of the internet if lacking awareness. Yes, the internet has developed to be almost a 'dummy's tool' for communicating where an interface can be so easy to use (prompts and all) that we are lulled into a false sense of security.

Below is an excerpt of an article by Ron Shulkin called: 'How I'm going to use social networking to steal your identity' posted by a friend on - guess where - FB.

Some find it a tad paranoid while I find it relevant. It is always good to be reminded of things that we take for granted. Believe me, someone out there HAS the time to do this, worse, has already made it his business to do so.

I think about all my trusted advisors in real life: my attorney, my doctor and others. There are questions that if posed by my insurance agent, I’d react by getting up from the table, letting him know it’s none of his business. But in the spirit of connecting socially, I easily answer these same questions in a Facebook quiz. It’s a cathartic release, a confession. Sometimes it makes up for the close mouthed, private way I act in real life. I know it seems great to “share” with others. And social network communities are the perfect place to dive in. Somehow sitting alone at the computer gives us license to answer some very intimate questions.

So the first thing I’ll do to steal your identity is find out everything I can about you. I can take a quiz, as apparently 34 million others did and with almost 200,000 fans, for “How Well Do You Know Me”? I’ll find out your birth date, where you were born, the names of your parents, your spouse, and your children. And I’ll find out their birthdates. I’ll find out your hobbies and your interests. I’ll see who all your friends are.

I’ll read “25 things you didn’t know about me”. I’ll know what sports you like, what your middle name is. I’ll know what your favorite stores are. I’ll figure out where you live by seeing where you shop. Your grammar school and your high school will be listed. It won’t be long until I find out the name of your first pet. Oh look, you used to have a space between your two front teeth!

Continue...





Bookmark and Share

0 Comments: