Social Media Survival Guide
July 31st, 2008 by Michael Cooper 
Social media is constantly changing. Well that’s what we all thought with the migration of MySpace to Facebook but what if the online tools we’re using today could actually develop at the same pace as our attention span?
Maybe it’s me, but it feels like Flickr, Digg and Twitter have been around for so long, I can’t remember life before them!
On the anniversary of the launch of Facebook Platform, the company has announced on its blog a whole host of improvements coming soon. Many of you will have noticed the change in profile layout, something that I think is a massive improvement allowing me to find the most recent information quickly. More importantly, I’m no longer being distracted by all those apps I added a year a go.
The most interesting part of the post for me is the upcoming Facebook Connect:
“Facebook Connect is a new way to use applications, on the open web and not just on Facebook. Soon, you’ll be able to use your Facebook account to login and connect on websites throughout the web. Imagine never filling out another profile at a new site, or having to find your friends all over again. Facebook Connect will help make this a reality and allow you to use Facebook to share information from all over the web with your friends.”
So that’s my personal information following me around wherever I go on the web. Is it ok for me to be intrigued and scared at the same time?
I’ll be fascinated to see which sites sign up for this and what benefits there are for web developers in the short term. For advertising I can see huge benefits in terms of personalisation.
Flash forward to a point when facial recognition becomes common place in CCTV cameras and that personal data is not only following me around the web but down the street.
Now exactly when should I start to regret putting all that personal information about myself on Facebook? Perhaps when I have billboards shouting out at me?
Once it’s up there, it’s not just going to disappear, even if you ‘delete’ your profile. We’ve put into action a chain of events where information is the currency of the technology age. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Tags: advertising, billboards, cctv, connect, digg, Facebook, Flickr, minority report, MySpace, twitter
August 1st, 2008 at 9:53 am
Interesting point and something I have been saying to the wife for a long time. People need to manage their online reputations in the same way they would any other part of their life. Most people wouldn’t be too happy to see a picture of themselves drunk in the local newspaper but are only too happy to put it on the net.
August 1st, 2008 at 12:57 pm
Paul,
I think it’s going to go much further than photographs online. My friend has just joined Facebook today and, because of the information he included on his profile, I’ve already managed to see the front of his house using Google Maps in a matter of minutes. That’s despite the fact he lives almost 3,000 miles away!
A little information is a dangerous thing.
August 1st, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Stalkr!
August 13th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
I think this information is really worrying for people using Facebook. I think it’s a great way for people to stay in touch who can’t see each other often or who are travelling but with it becoming more intrusive, I feel that it is soon going to become another key player in our already expanding surveillance society.