The Launch

I chose Facebook as my carrier into the “system” of social networks. It began uneventfully, I found family easily enough: one (of three) brothers (is it kosher for a stake president to have a facebook account with 139 “friends”? :-), neither of my two sisters, quite a few nieces, a nephew, the youngest (of 5) of my own children, one daughter-in-law, and one sister-in-law. I also readily found several IP&T friends. There were two additional friends that I found unexpectedly: an old friend from my Flagstaff Arizona high school whom I hadn’t seen or talked to since her graduation a year earlier than mine (she replied to my message: “Nothing happens by accident”.) and a friend from Stockholm whom I met when we collaborated on a work project (both of us from different countries and companies). She had visited our office in Provo, and I had visited their office in Stockholm, back in 2000. We kept in touch for a several years by email and phone, but I hadn’t heard from her for a couple of years. It was great to find her on facebook – and easy! I also easily found many of the young women I had worked with in my church calling, and a few young women leaders.

Then I started getting updates from everyone. It felt really...peculiar...kind of like a big party where I had invited lots of friends, but from so many different contexts...it was just odd, especially to know that if someone visited my “space” they would see this rather incongruous hodge-podge of messages and updates. It was also a little disconcerting when one of my new 'friends' sent an update that included language that I didn’t really care to have on my 'wall'.

I thought it interesting that regardless of whether or not I was someone’s 'friend' I could examine THEIR friend’s names and pictures, just by searching for their name, and then viewing their friends. I noticed that there were some people where the option to "view friends" was missing. So I checked settings and after digging around for awhile found the radio button to turn off the ability to see my friends – unless you were one. However I realize that most people don’t know (or care) how to do this – or even know that it’s an option. What this means is that you could easily traverse through a network of MANY people by looking up friends of friends of friends...etc.

So I began to be concerned about the whole privacy issue. Especially so when I went to install an app, and they always ask:

"Allow access? Allowing access will let it pull your profile information, photos, your friends' info, and other content that it requires to work….By proceeding, you are allowing (name of app) to access your information and you are agreeing to the Facebook Platform User Terms of Service... you also agree to the (name of app) Terms of Service."

Which I’m pretty sure no one really reads – they could be agreeing to ANYTHING! (I would LOVE to write my own app and include ridiculously random things in the “Terms of Service” just for fun.) This is when I realized that any of MY friends who install apps have given permission for it to access MY info too - at least what they have access to. Is it only people over a certain age that this bothers? I remember reading the George Orwell's "1984" in 1974 and thinking it could never happen in 10 years (and it didn’t) but I see now that the possibility is definitely there -- not because of "big brother" but because of information that hundreds of thousands of people post at will! And I’m not generally one to be on the paranoid side.

When we briefly discussed privacy and safety issues in class Kimberly mentioned (and later bookmarked for the new media diigo group the reference to) an article published in the Feb-Mar 2008 issue of American Psychologist entitled: Online “Predators” and Their Victims Myths, Realities, and Implications for Prevention and Treatment. The crux of this article is summarized nicely in it’s first paragraph. My take on it is NOT that it’s refuting the dangers, but only saying that it’s not (statistically speaking) the unknowing or innocents that are seduced – but the ones who already engage or seek to engage in risky behaviors. This doesn’t mean that there is not a risk – only that it is higher for those who fit a certain profile.

One question that was raised: If having all that information "out there" is risky or dangerous – have we heard of any "disasters" or large problems with it? There are two notes that may be of particular interest to those who ask this question. The first is that there has been at least one huge privacy infringement – but either it was not (by choice?) passed on via the same or similar networks that were breached, or those who received notification did not perceive it as noteworthy enough to pass along, or we have all chosen to forget about it.

The misuse of information to which I refer occurred August of 2006 and links to discussions about it are listed here including TechCrunch , wikipedia, wired and the NY Times. There were some efforts to spread the word which seem to be mostly ineffective based on the inability of anyone in class to quickly recall such an event. Several posts could be created from this event and its consequences alone, but I will refrain.

I also found an eye-opening 2008 computer science thesis written by Jack Lindamood entitled: Privacy Preserving Methods In Social Networking Data (This is a Proquest link: you may need to be signed in to a library database to access it). His thesis is fascinating for many reasons-- including a "machine learning algorithm"-- but more specific to this post, it shows what a machine can learn about you, simply by traversing facebook data from your friends!

This method of obtaining information by querying friends is not new, as anyone knows who is a friend, relative, or neighbor of someone who has applied for a position that needs a ultra high security clearance from the government. The difference is that you (ostensibly) know who you are giving the information to, who you are volunteering information about, and a general idea of why it is being collected. This information is all completely hidden from you when your electronic data is mined - data that at some point in time you gave permission to access with no more than a few grams of thoughtless pressure from your index finger when you installed the latest, coolest, facebook app – or signed up for some other social network "service".

The applications available to install on facebook are myriad. There seems to be a preponderance of apps that are trivial at best, and hopefully at worst, a waste of time. I even found a website that concurs about the dearth of any worthwhile apps. Though even most of their top 10 aren't all that great. I smiled as I read this interesting comment from a user of the Slide Funspace application :

"Do Not Grant Access Unless You Know What It Is (by Steven Brundage at 7:20am on October 3rd, 2008: ) This is actually an application that, once downloaded by you, allows others with it installed to know when you have viewed their profile. In my opinion, this application should be removed from FaceBook. I have no problem with such an application (let anyone choose what they want), but this one masquerades as something it is not. I'm going to report it, if I can find where to do so."

–That’s my whole point – giving a blanket permission for data access without knowing how it will be used is something I am not comfortable with. I’m sure it’s more than just this app that takes that "liberty".

On the other hand, I think I like the idea that you can write and put your own application "out there" and sort of make an end run around all of the traditional marketing and business roadblocks. There may even be money in it for a lucky few. I do like the picnik application I installed that lets me quickly and easily edit graphics and pictures. And yes, I admit I agreed to the "terms of service". Yes, I sold my soul for completion of a class assignment (j/k). There honestly weren’t many other applications that I was even interested in downloading though. Have I missed some app you just can't live without? Maybe I've looked for application love in all the wrong places, I dunno.

One other fact that people (especially those new to the job market) should know is that it’s not unusual for employers, perspective employers, or admissions committees to view your social networking account. Even if it’s an account you’ve ‘deactivated’ or deleted it’s usually available from a cached or mirrored site. If there is something on your account (post, photo, etc) that you (or a friend) posted indiscriminately, as a teen, in the heat of the moment, etc. it may be forever available. It can be viewed by potential employers and influence their decisions, and you won’t even be aware that they viewed it. You can find posts about this many places, here are just a few from msnbc, PCWorld, CBS News, and ZDNet (this last one has some do’s not just don’ts).

After my facebook foray and signing up for diigo and delicious (which by the way I really LIKE), it seems that the underlying trend is toward creating a "space" that will virally attract people - people with common friends, interests, objectives, etc. Even though there is talk about the "social objects" that these networks are built around, I think they are all after the same thing: members and whatever will attract and keep them, be it friends, applications, social objects, or a sense of a "personal portal" –your one-stop platform for whatever you want, whenever you want, and however you want it to be. In essence they want the "space" to become your world.

Social networks have existed throughout human history. But the recent ability to easily form those networks with individuals of such diverse locations, cultures and interests holds incredible potential. I subscribe to the philosophy that technology in general, and of itself, is merit neutral; there is potential to accomplish great good as well as potential for great harm and destruction. What determines the technology’s worth is how we choose to use it, and, as a result what the technology ends up supporting or even becoming, because of the sum of our individual choices. Do we think about this in our visits and web 2.0 behaviors, do we make conscious choices to improve what's in the cyber? If we don't, can we complain when it's not what it could be?...what do you think? Oh, and did you catch this on LDS Media Talk?