Jack SantosMy wife and I have been known to throw killer pool parties. Adult squirt gun wars, croquet sudden deaths – you know. The type of thing we need to keep the dog days of summer at bay. Mostly non-tech people (I have found that geeks tend to shy away from water).
It was at one of these parties that during a group photo one of our guests asked “Is this going on Facebook?”. A few of us have gotten quite adept at documenting our life in photos on Facebook, and sharing them (sometimes inadvertently) with the world (Thank you, Mark Z.).
Hence she refused to be photographed. And she proceeded to tell us how at one firm she was the person being paid to come up with information on prospective hires by scanning the Internet, especially Facebook. Ever since then, she has been wary.
Personally, I think the horse is out of the barn. In certain quarters there is a backlash to online social networking because of the creep factor. Like the guy who would recite my resume, because he had committed my online website to memory (I have since significantly tailored that website back, almost embarrassingly so).
Today we were alerted to the dangers of the “like” button; Don Dodge talks about it in his blog, and the Wall Street Journal broke the story. Kind of like when Gmail makes ad recommendations based on what you said in an email; or when Gmail pops up with “did you forget the attachment” because your message said you would include an attachment (but didn’t). Where is the line that separates helpful from creepy?
The future is coming with the millenials – and it is clear where it is going. But the creepiness factor remains. Stalkers, unethical background checks, who knows what else. We need clear rules of the road on the use of online social networking, a 21st century Abby (Van Buren) or Ann (Landers). We need the use of online social networking..well…socialized.
Until then, the creep factor remains….
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