privacy

Facebook Privacy: Advertisers Get More Power

I read a post by Inside Facebook announcing that Facebook is testing new advertisements that target users based on status updates and wall post content. This form of targeting is similar to the content targeting method used by other advertising networks like Google Adwords.

From an advertiser’s perspective, this may help improve the conversion rate of Facebook ads because ads can be configured to reach only users who are “talking” about a topic related to the ad.

From a Facebook user’s perspective, it’s a mixed bag. Some users may see it as a positive, thinking to themselves, “Since it is inevitable that ads will be displayed on Facebook, I’d rather see ads which are more relevant to me”.

Other users may see it as a negative and a gross invasion of privacy. Since status updates and wall posts on a personal profile are in a private environment, allowing advertisers to target based on this content is like allowing Facebook and advertisers to tap into these personal conversations.

If Facebook were to launch this new targeting method, it undoubtedly needs to have an opt-out option for users. Better yet (but highly unlikely), it should be an opt-in option.

Whether you are wearing the advertisers’ hat or the Facebook users’ hat, it’s important to be aware of the ever changing online and social media environment.

Victor

Photo Credit: mjmonty

Tags: advertising, facebook, privacy

Handling multiple accounts: Convenience vs. Privacy?

Lately I have been thinking a lot about how many email accounts I have.  And how I seem to be getting fewer emails, but continue to check multiple accounts.

I have a personal email that I use for most things.  I have a school email account that is still active.  I have a work email, which I like to keep separate from my other accounts.  And lastly, I have a ‘placeholder’ account that I use when I need to give an email account to sign up for something.  These in combination with the other online tools I use each day make me a busy lady.

I have a Twitter account, used largely for professional purposes. I use Google Reader to compile my RSS feeds.  I visit LinkedIn once a day to follow discussions of the groups that I have joined.  I also have a few other personal sites that I like to check every day.

And of course, I have Facebook – my go-to for staying in the loop with friends and even checking out those who I have not stayed close with.  I can see the pictures of friends who just recently returned from a trip.  I can see who is engaged, who is having a baby, and who is moving house.  I have fewer reasons to touch base via personal email, because I feel like I am already in the know.

Yesterday, Facebook announced their new ‘modern messaging system’.  This online chat/text/real-time conversation tool is being described as a combination of email, SMS and IM.  Sounds like a good idea right?

Being able to cross stuff off my list, or shorten my to dos, is always a good thing.  This new integration would potentially allow me to eliminate my email, leaving me with one less thing I need to check every day.  Hmmm…  maybe more time for sleep?

Then my curious nature kicks in and my thought process goes as follows:  Facebook already knows more about its 500 million users than it knows what to do with.  And although Facebook makes us feel like we are in the know, Facebook is truly the one in the know.

Is giving Facebook access to even more personal information something I should be worried about?  I mean, I don’t have that much to hide.  But it certainly makes me think.

I am faced with the decision of whether to make one less online pit stop each day or consider an analogy frequently used in financial investing – do I want to put all, or most of, my eggs in one basket?

Taylor

Tags: email, facebook, Facebook email, LinkedIn, privacy, Social Media, Twitter

A Teenager’s Guide to Social Media

Feeling a need for a teenager’s guide to social media?  In the last few months, several people have approached me about what to do about their teenage son/daughter/nephew/granddaughter online.

It’s troubling how private, impulsive messages are slapped up to a Facebook Wall without much thought or clue of how such impetuous actions will exist forever more.  In fact, Google’s CEO himself suggested there will come a time when many  teenagers will be applying for a name change … as this is the only hope they’ll have to escape years of embarrassing content.

A recent study shows 3/4 of kids in grades 7 – 12 have some kind of social media profile online.  The study revealed the average teen spends 22 minutes a day – or 11 hours a month – on social networks.  That’s part of the nearly 8 hours a day teens dedicate to consuming all kinds of media.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again..  I’m so glad I didn’t have access to something like Facebook when I was 13.  I was living from one self-absorbed moment to the next.. only ever in a single moment in time.  Zero foresight.  Perhaps that is the way of the teen.

So when you see a young adult publicly posting compromising content – what do you do?

Get them to stop, right?

But asking them to extract from Facebook, Twitter, FormSpring, etc… is like asking them to cut off an intimate connection with their friends; a now routine and expected form of engagement.

So if you can’t stop them – here are 3 simple changes that might help.

1. Encourage the teen to create a private Facebook Group between friends.  Facebook Groups have changed recently.  Group founders can now tag friends, making them automatic members (speeds up adoption).  What Groups can do is take potentially damaging conversations and photos from a public arena (a wall) to a private arena (a Group – which can have a “secret” setting).
2. Furthermore, if the teen begins to use Facebook Places – which is Facebook’s location-based “check-in” tool  (potentially scary consequences for young people) – this could be set up to only broadcast to the “Group”.
3. In terms of other social networks, my suggestion: pseudonyms.  This is 100% counter to what we tell our clients, but for a teen, I recommend it wherever it can be done.

What other ideas do people have?  How do you suggest folk manage (or more accurately: influence) teenage conduct online?

Tags: facebook, Facebook Groups, Facebook Places, formspring, privacy, Social Media, Teenagers, Twitter

Facebook Privacy Settings

Consumers’ perceptions of a company include their perception of a company’s executives and employees. Facebook and many other social networks, are built on open sharing and genuine conversations. Although personal profiles are not meant for business purposes, these profiles still influence how a person is perceived online. For those who do not want to mix business with their personal lives, Facebook, in particular, has a series of settings to help you control how open your personal profile is to the world.

Facebook’s privacy policy, user interface and controls have changed a lot in the past year. Here is a quick guide to help you set up your account the way you want it.

1. Go to www.facebook.com and log in.
2. Click on “Account” (located near the top right corner) and select “Privacy Settings” in the drop down menu. This is the first page of privacy settings you can change.
3. Under the “Sharing on Facebook” section, click the “Customize settings” link to customize your settings.
4. After customizing your settings, go back to the “Privacy” page.
5. Next, under the “Basic Directory Information” section on the “Privacy” page, click on the “View settings” link (located at the end of the paragraph). This page will allow you to customize what information you want to appear on your public directory profile. NOTE: Your name, profile picture, gender and networks are always open to everyone.
6. After customizing your settings, go back to the “Privacy” page.
7. Next, if you do not want your public profile to appear in search engine listings at all, under the “Applications and Website” section (located near the bottom right of the “Privacy” page), click on the “Edit your settings” link.
8. Click the “Edit Settings” button located right of the “Public search” item. Make sure the “Enable public search” item is un-checked.

There you have it. The settings are scattered about on Facebook, but using this guide allows you to control your privacy on Facebook. Well, some of it anyway.

Victor
eMarketing Strategist

Tags: facebook, privacy, settings, Social Media

Privacy Online: Possible?

This post was inspired by an article entitled Social Media Privacy is an Oxymoron. It sparked some thoughts for me around how one can achieve at least *some* privacy online; assuming this is important to you because for a surprising number of people, it isn’t.

First off – Facebook.  Many informative posts have been written about controlling your privacy or removing yourself from Facebook altogether.   Some high-profile Facebook users are taking a stand against recent changes on Facebook affecting privacy. And you may have heard by now that “Quit Facebook Day” is scheduled for May 31, 2010. Before you quit, you may want to first determine what amount of your private info on Facebook is exposed. This application, as well as this one can help you do that.

But while all the attention and heat is on Facebook, what about everything else? Among, what is undoubtedly, a myriad of vulnerabilities on the big old web, here are just a few ideas that may help you stay a little more private.

To prevent the tracking of my every click, I like to use CoolPreviews. This is a tool that allows me to see what’s behind a link without having to click on it. I like to use this a lot when logged into LinkedIn or Twitter, as the tracking of where and what you click can be scrutinized. For example, if you notice a tweet was posted via Hootsuite, and the link provided is an OWLY link, your click will be counted. Not a huge deal perhaps as your click, in this case anyway, is in no way connected to your account. (At least, not that I’m aware of.)  On LinkedIn however, if you are logged in and you check out someone’s profile, your “click” as it were, *is* linked to your profile. This enables this cool-but -creepy feature.

There is a long list of ways to add more privacy to your browsing habits. Many browsers like Safari and Firefox now offer ‘Private Browsing‘ ensuring you that no website you open will be kept on record. Anywhere. There are also many types of ‘scramblers’ you can use that mask your IP address. These are called proxy servers. This can help prevent data collection on where you are in this universe, what browser you’re using, what kind of computer you’re using, among other things. Want to know what your IP reveals about you? Go here.

Google Analytics and Quantcast, as two examples, are now offering “opt out” options. Google Analytics, for one, is allowing people to opt out of being monitored for receiving targeted ads.
Quantcast, an American based service that measures audience statistics for websites, is offering something similar.

This is just the tip of the iceberg for ways of preserving privacy online. The questions I have are:

Is it too little too late?

Is it time to redefine what online privacy means?

Should we care this much? Everyone is up in arms over the privacy principle, but is the privacy practice (the way our private info is being used) really that offensive and/or scary?

I’d love to hear what you think.

Tags: advertising, facebook, Google Analytics, LinkedIn, opt out, privacy, proxy servers, Quantcast, Twitter