All posts in “online privacy”

Big Data and the Perception of Privacy

Cam Finlayson is a Director on the Client Strategy & Innovation team at Social Media Group.

On Feb 17, 2012, I had the pleasure of participating in SMG’s Ignite-style Social Media Week Toronto Event.  The Ignite presentation format itself was a fun challenge, although what was most memorable for me were the conversations that took place after the six presentations.

My session focused primarily on privacy concerns and the future of social data. Based on the dialog after the event, it become clear that this topic was very much top of mind for many of the attendees. Interestingly, there were related articles published in the New York Times the weekend before SMW 2012 on Big Data and a second the following weekend highlighting Target’s use of personal information . These along with the recent changes to the Google Privacy settings likely provided much fuel for discussion. What follows are three of my favourite discussion points during this post-presentation dialog.

Volunteered Data & The Value Exchange

It is my belief that the privacy debate is an extremely complex issue and it will take some time to settle. That said, public option regarding ‘volunteered data’, or willing contributed information (Twitter posts, Facebook comments, etc.), is relatively straightforward. It is generally understood that in situations where there is a clear value exchange of a service for data or personal information, this is part of the social contract of using digital tools. In other words, in exchange for the use of a free service like Facebook or Google there are terms that outline privacy and ownership considerations. It is also understood that the value of this information to companies like Facebook or Google is that it provides valuable user intelligence that can be leveraged as part of their advertising offering.

Observed Data & Consumer Profiling

In comparison, the world of ‘observed data’, or the breadcrumbs of information we leave behind as we conduct our day-to-day digital lives, is an entirely different story. In many ways, this is the new Wild West of data with very few rules and many trailblazers. For example, corporations that are developing innovative techniques in data analysis are seeing huge benefits. That said, as public awareness increases these innovative practices are put into question.

A perfect example of this is found in the recent New York Times article on Target . Many readers were alarmed by the accuracy of Target’s customer profiling via data refinement. The fact that the company could anticipate major life milestones (like upcoming pregnancy) based on changes in buying habits (increase of body lotion consumption and a switch to unscented) is too much ‘Big Brother’ for some. However, for corporations and marketers alike, the ability to predict these milestones creates an attractive opportunity to generate consumer brand loyalty by marketing to an impressionable consumer at a time when they’re experiencing major change of habits.

Data As An Owned Asset Versus The Concept of Open Data

As we look to the future, arguments regarding data ownership run the gamut. However, most agree that data has become its own asset class that will continue to increase in value in the years to come. There are some that feel all personal data is the property of the individual and, as such, in the future we will be able to decide how this information is used.  Whereas, in contrast, many feel that our ‘digital exhaust’ is simply open information that is legitimately free game for those that have the means to refine it.

Looking to the Future

We live in a day and age where sharing personal information is part and parcel with how we conduct our digital lives. This exchange is so intertwined with our digital existence that for younger generations it is becoming an afterthought.

The decisions that are made now regarding ownership and use of personal data will lay the groundwork for digital information platforms. And here’s a reality check: Gone are the days for fretting over whether or not information is collected. The focus now needs to be on how personal information can be used and ultimately who dictates the terms.

If you missed the SMG Social Media Week event you can see all of the presentations here. My presentation on Big Data and social good can be found below:

 

 

 

 

Personal Information Online: How Much is Too Much?

 

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Charlie Sheen's Infamous Tweet

Have you ever posted something on Facebook or Twitter and felt immediate regret? Scrambling to delete something that truly cannot be undone? You’re not alone.

From Charlie Sheen tweeting his phone number, to Anthony Weiner tweeting a questionable private picture, down to the recent tweet from New York Times’ Brian Stelter leaking news of Christiane Amanpour departing as host of ABC’s “This Week.”

You know as well as I do that it’s not just the celebrities who have been getting themselves into social media hot water. I’ve seen people post the most ridiculous updates to their feeds, like the handful of Vancouver rioters posting Facebook updates bragging about the damage they’d done.  For a real head-shaker, type “I lost my phone” in your Facebook search bar and see how many people are publicly posting their contact details.

Facebook Privacy Fail

(No one was harmed during the faking of this FB status.)

Recently, a friend mistakenly tweeted his credit card number and expiry date. This happened because his tweets are delivered to his iPhone in the same format as text messages, so he thought he was sending an SMS. Interestingly, he noted a few new followers (within minutes), one of which was a self-proclaimed hacker according to his bio. Yikes!

I once saw someone post that social media was like a needy girlfriend: “Facebook asks me what I’m thinking, Twitter asks me what I’m doing and Foursquare asks me where I am.” It’s funny, but does sharing your likes, interests and whereabouts present you as an easy target to cyber criminals? A recent survey cited 15% of respondents admitting to posting their current location or travel plans, 34% their full birth date and 21% had posted their children’s names and one in five said they hadn’t used Facebook’s privacy controls.

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SMG's Online Security Bad Habits

In 2010, Consumer Reports estimated that cybercrime cost American consumers $4.5 billion over two years. A few things to keep in mind when it comes to protecting yourself:

  • Don’t use your full birth date in your profile (Or, if you do – utilize privacy settings to make sure it’s only available to those you want to see it)
  • Utilize privacy controls (This applies to Facebook, Twitter, Google+, whatever network you’re using)
  • Post your child’s name in a caption
  • Don’t broadcast you’ll be out of town (Unless following it up with ‘And _______ is taking care of my place!’)
  • Leverage Facebook Lists to control who sees what and when. I like to use them for industry-specific posts to avoid my mom replying with “What’s a Foursquare?”
  • Do a good ol’ Facebook friend clean-up. With 23% of Facebook users admitting they didn’t know some of their “friends” well enough to feel completely comfortable about their own or their family’s security or safety and 6% admitting to having a friend who made them uneasy about those things, this is a commonsense way to protect yourself.
  • Use a strong password

Let’s talk about passwords for a minute. Is yours painfully obvious? Does it include the name of your partner, child or pet? If so, give yourself a shake! You likely don’t use your birth date as your banking PIN, so why do it online? According to Consumer Reports, 75% of Americans don’t use the strongest kind of passwords for their most sensitive accounts. Here’s some more food for thought: 32% of respondents used a personal reference in their passwords, 29% store passwords on a list they carry with them, near their computer, or in an insecure file on their tablet or mobile device and almost 20% used the same password for more than five accounts.

Password 101: Strong passwords should contain at least eight characters and have a combination of upper and lowercase letters, a numeral and a special character.

The inadvertent posting of non-sensitive personal information may seem innocent but there is a dark side to sharing your interests, location, and even favourite local pub. Studies have shown that we’re not choosing the best passwords, and the likes of Charlie Sheen, Anthony Weiner and New York Times’ Brian Stelter have proven anyone can make a bad social media move.

Millions of people worldwide are constantly sharing personal and private information with friends (and strangers) on social networks. Think before you tweet and be smart about what you’re sharing.

Ethics Of Blogging Webinar Audio Replay Available Now

I’m Lindsey McInerney and I’m the intern here at SMG.

If you missed the Social Media Today webinar last Thursday, you can check out thearchive of the audio.

Maggie moderated a great discussion with Augie Ray (@augieray), Managing Director of Experiential Marketing at Fullhouse, Daniel Tunkelang (@dtunkelang), Chief Scientist and co-founder of Endeca and John Jantsch (@ducttape), marketing and digital technology coach and author of Duct Tape Marketing: The World’s Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide.  The webinar covered issues surrounding transparency, pay-for-play, online privacy, Astroturfing, compliance and legal for social media users.

Here are some of the highlights:

  • The FTC hasn’t updated their advertising rules in 29 years. Due to the evolving nature of the online community, they are expected to do an overhaul shortly that mirrors some sample guidelines they put out late last year. What are the expectations going to be of brands engaging with bloggers online? How much does a blogger have to disclose? What is the risk for brands engaging in this space? Do we need policing? If you truly love a product, is it ok to get paid to write about it? As a reader, do you care? Hear what the Social Media Today gang thinks.
  • As it turns out, bloggers can’t live off of cases of shampoo. They need to make money. The group navigates what compensation from brands is fair and when bloggers need to disclose. Additionally, they talk about brands taking responsibility of blogger disclosure and how to pick a blogger with care.
  • If bloggers are forced to disclose every time they receive compensation for talking about a product, will audiences ever believe they can be impartial? Perhaps paying them directly isn’t the answer. Maggie stick handles the discussion through blogger compensation. Hear the conversation about what is acceptable, when to disclose and how bloggers can financially benefit creating a win-win situation for both brand and blogger.
  • If talking about products on blogs is questionable, how much different is it than product placement in movies? Ultimately, it seems readers and brands should know the writer. If you don’t like where the writer is going with their posts, you always have the option to un-follow or unsubscribe. Perhaps this is the best policing out there.

Are you a brand? A blogger? A passionate reader? We’d love to hear what you think. So listen to the audio archive, and let us know where you stand!

The varying degrees of grey in blog ethics

I’m Sharon, I’m new to SMG’s Influencer Outreach Practice. Now that we have that out of the way, a few words about ethics and transparency…

When it comes to conversations about ethics, it’s always interesting to me how grey areas can often be positioned as black and white. There are varying degrees of ethical behavior and so many factors that determine how an individual or company views a potentially ethically questionable situation. Perception and context being at the top of what sways someone in one direction or another.  What might beethically irresponsible to some consumers, might be completely harmless to others. What might have been seen as ethically appalling two years ago, might be absolutely kosher these days.

Who better to bring these discussions to the forefront than the folks on the Social Media Today’s Ethics of Blogging webinar. Shameless plug coming…wait for it…SMG’s very own Maggie Fox will be one of the experts examining trust between bloggers and readers! (SMG’s also a sponsor) See, that wasn’t so bad, was it?

Among the topics to be discussed:

  • Transparency: How and when should a blogger reveal revenue sources?
  • Pay for play: Blog posts, tweets, and more as marketing tools
  • Online privacy
  • Astroturfing: Organizations creating artificial “grassroots” campaigns
  • Compliance and Legal: What should a corporate blog policy look like? What are a blogger’s legal obligations?

Join in the conversation and have your two cents heard by logging in to the webinar on Sept 24th at 1 pm ET (10 am PT) right here.