Comments on: Our misplaced notion of privacy (or, why social media has a major perception problem).

By: Privacy is a cultural context, not an immutable law. | Taylor Davidson

Privacy is a cultural context, not an immutable law. | Taylor Davidson — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 09:41:06 +0000

[...] April 2009, Our misplaced notion of privacy (or, why social media has a major perception problem).: The login page to Facebook might be the biggest contributor on the web to this mistaken notion of [...]

By: Taylor Davidson

Taylor Davidson — Fri, 01 May 2009 20:15:22 +0000

Thanks; and on a second read that's an oddly phrased sentence, but I'm glad you understood it

By: Taylor Davidson

Taylor Davidson — Fri, 01 May 2009 20:14:05 +0000

I once wrote, kinda cheekily, that "The only way to hide online is in plain sight."; but the bigger issue: our personal privacy is less about my ability to control what I say, share or give away, but more about my ability to control / manage / mediate what other people say.

Facebook's system (technological and cultural) creates a false perception of privacy, and since my personal privacy is more dependent on what other people say than by what I say, I lose my ability to detach and am forced to participate; if the culture doesn't change to recognize the perception of reality is misguided, then the technology should change to make it obvious.

By: brooksjordan

brooksjordan — Fri, 01 May 2009 19:19:50 +0000

Love this post.

And this line:

"I want more targeting, not less; I have little objection to the idea of aggregating and structuring data about me to target advertising to me; but as usual, it all comes down to how it’s executed."

By: Patrick Keenan

Patrick Keenan — Fri, 01 May 2009 18:43:38 +0000

Agree, openness is the best defence against privacy infringement.

By: Ethan Bauley

Ethan Bauley — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:43:23 +0000

good idea, or rather “frame of thinking”

By: Taylor Davidson

Taylor Davidson — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 13:26:20 +0000

Depends on what the vendor is selling behind the connections

Seriously, big difference between a vendor that is making a market by connecting people with each other than a vendor that is making a market by connecting people to goods and services.

Honestly I think “vendor as a connector of people” is what many companies already attempt to create around their products and services, by creating a passionate fan base and bringing them together, either explicitly through a community-building device, or implicitly through communicating a shared purpose or ideal. Examples: SAP Developer Network, Apple's cult (and app store), any open-source development community, Dell IdeaStorm, NAU's Thought Kitchen blog and products, any company that sponsors and contributes to a Ning group (or similar) around a product or service of theirs, etc…

By: Aaronchua

Aaronchua — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 10:18:56 +0000

What do you think of the idea: vendor as a connector of people? By knowing who you are , can the vendor recommends and links its community members to you so that there can be richer discussions on the areas you need help on? Sort of like MrTweet + GetSatisfaction.