Friends

Facehooked

Dave Oliver — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 13:30:36 GMT

I watched lastnights BBC Money Programme on Facebook which you can watch on iPlayer again in the UK from here.

The section of the show I found most revealing was on 1000heads who are 'digital dialogue experts' which basically means they read online conversations which can be between you and your friends to build up a picture of likes and dislikes. This information is then used in marketing. This happens across blogs and information sources were this information can be read publicly. This is why Facebook is a perfect place for this kind of thing to happen because it's all self contained which makes the whole task allot easier.

Shocked? Well you shouldn't be because it clearly states this in the terms of use of Facebook that they can and will do that.

This is not all, 'Facebook Ad' was launched in September and provides a marketing service targeted at users’ profile and activity data. Advertisers claim that users are naïve to think there should be no advertising, as the Internet is there to make money and not for altruistic reasons. And there is no turning back, as Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, confirmed at the launch of Facebook Ad: “It is an ad supported business.”

Although users can activate privacy settings so that only their nominated friends can see their personal information, only one in five members do this. It means that millions of UK members have left themselves vulnerable to potential identity fraud. To be safe, security experts advise users to be careful what they post in the first place, as Facebook accounts can only be de-activated and not actually deleted.

So I decided that I would have a Facebook clean out, set privacy settings, delete relationships, remove groups, remove personal data (never put personal information like your phone number or address anywhere that is publicly available) and obfuscate personal data I had to supply. I accept that I am a Facebook user and therefore I accept that they have to make money that pays for the servers, bandwidth, payroll and so on. However I want to control what information there is out there about me not allow a advertiser or marketer to pick through my information and my life like searching for tasty morsels chocolates laid out in a pretty box to pick and chose at their whim, not mine. The striking thing is that this is just the legal use! So becareful and protect yourself, if you don't know now ... find out! Don't be a victim.

Technorati tags: Facebook, BBC, Money Programme, 1000heads, Personal Data Security

Secret Bloggers

Dave Oliver — Tue, 10 Jan 2006 14:17:00 GMT

It's funny really, my organisation hasn't got an official blog or gotten around to adding RSS feeds to the site (I'm sure they will do sooner or later) but plenty of people in my organisation are beavering away with their own blogs.

Here is a list of the ones I've discovered so far (I'm darn sure there are more) and as it's all personal content I'm sure our corporate communications department wouldn't get upset about any of it. But as for certain political parties, World of Warcraft players and certain vendors, well I'm sure they are primed to sue!

Robert Scoble has a new home ...

Dave Oliver — Mon, 03 Oct 2005 08:53:00 GMT

http://www.robertscoble.com

Anyway, whats all the fuss about OPML feeds, someone please explain?

Nokia Email! The Aussie from GWB with the scoop!

Dave Oliver — Wed, 14 Sep 2005 14:58:00 GMT

How does Dave Caddick do it? He's got the scoop on this story before anyone else?

Dave's post here on GWB and ZDNets story ! Dave's currently sunning himself in Egypt miles away from any internet connection so is unavailable for comment.

Do you know what I think? Nokia are late to the party. Their offering isn't as complete as everyone else's and doesn't look like it's going to be for while yet, what Q2 next year ... and you are going to pay extra for it?

Nokia do you think we are all mugs? Or are you playing the, Nokia as a brand is great you can trust us, because we do great phones and good firewalls.

All I can say is I ditched my Nokia phone and I'm not missing it because I felt Nokia was behind and not good value for money. 2 years ago I would have told anyone who would listen that my Nokia was the best phone on the market.

See what happens when you take a rest and don't continue to innovate believing that your brand is what people are buying.