Privacy

E-Book Buyer’s Guide to Privacy

January 12, 2010
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E-Book Buyer’s Guide to Privacy

Thinking about an ebook reader? Concerned about ebooks and privacy? Just curious? The EFF’s E-Book Buyer’s Guide to Privacy v1.1 has answers to questions like Can they monitor what you’re reading? Is the device ONLY compatible with books purchased from an associated eBook store? Can they keep track of book searches? Can they keep track of book purchases? With whom can they share the information collected in non-aggregated form? Can they share information outside the company without the customer’s consent? Do they lack mechanisms for customers to access, correct, or delete the information? Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Share on FriendFeed Share on netvibes share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tumblr it Buzz it up Subscribe to the comments on this post Print for later Tell a friend

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Do you understand Facebook’s privacy settings?

July 17, 2009
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Do you understand Facebook’s privacy settings?

They are complicated and change often, even if you think you know them this is a good time to review them. Think it doesn’t matter? That you don’t care if the whole world sees what you’ve posted?  What if Facebook was using your photo in ads? They might be. I came across this blog post today about Facebook could be using your photos in their ads.  To change this option -> Settings -> Privacy -> News Feed and Wall -> Facebook Ads -> Appearance in Facebook Ads and click “no one.” I had no idea this was even an option or possibility and I pay pretty close attention to my facebook privacy settings. Some additional helpful info on Facebook and privacy: 10 Privacy Settings Every Facebook User Should Know FACEBOOK FAIL: How to Use Facebook Privacy Settings and Avoid Disaster 5 Crucial Facebook Privacy Settings 22 Ways To Adjust Privacy Settings In Facebook Latest eye-opener on Facebook’s privacy lapses Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Share on FriendFeed Share on netvibes share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tumblr it Buzz it up Subscribe to the comments on this post Print for later Tell a friend

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What do you think of Google Flu Trends?

November 12, 2008
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What do you think of Google Flu Trends?

I’ll admit it, I’m sucker for Google products – Reader, Gmail, Docs, Blogger, Chrome and I know on some level the dangers of that.  I have lots of bookmarks in delicious about it.  This morning while I was watching the news  I heard mention of something new – Google Flu Trends.  According the the site: We have found a close relationship between how many people search for flu-related topics and how many people actually have flu symptoms. Of course, not every person who searches for “flu” is actually sick, but a pattern emerges when all the flu-related search queries from each state and region are added together. We compared our query counts with data from a surveillance system managed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and discovered that some search queries tend to be popular exactly when flu season is happening. By counting how often we see these search queries, we can estimate how much flu is circulating in various regions of the United States. I’m not certain why this disturbs me, I think I want to know how Google knows where I am when I search.  If I go into a computer in my library

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I’m not narcisitic, you’re eavesdropping

September 23, 2008
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I’m not narcisitic, you’re eavesdropping

In many of the articles I read about the Social Web, especially Twitter, the author laments that they don’t care that I had a peanut butter and banana sandwich for lunch, or what I thought of the latest American Idol. I’ve long felt that these writers are missing the point and this week I came across two sources that articulate this better than I could have. The first is Clay Shirky’s book Here Comes Everybody, he makes the point that with new advances in technology people mistake broadcasting media (1 to many) for communications media (1to 1).  New tools allow people to use broadcasting media for communication.  He gives this example – if you read a blog of someone you don’t know and see that they got wasted last night and today when shopping for clothes you think what’s the point? Who cares? Yet if you went to a food court in a mall and eavesdropped on the same conversation it would be clear that you are the weird one. We’re so used to the old web that we think if we can read it, it’s targeted towards us and with the new Social Web this just don’t hold true

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photo by Beth Tribe

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