gawguy Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 Okay...I'm in an area I know nothing about. Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, etc. I have heard that they are personal information mining engines. That they can follow you wherever you go. Please feel free to add more concerns. How valid are the concerns I have? Whatever might be wrong with them, they have become HUGE. I would never put my real email address or name on such a site, however, if I could be anonymous and if I felt assured I could prevent the sites from mining real info, I would like to have a look. Is the possible and/or practical? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamui Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 Okay...I'm in an area I know nothing about. Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, etc. I have heard that they are personal information mining engines. That they can follow you wherever you go. Please feel free to add more concerns. How valid are the concerns I have? Whatever might be wrong with them, they have become HUGE. I would never put my real email address or name on such a site, however, if I could be anonymous and if I felt assured I could prevent the sites from mining real info, I would like to have a look. Is the possible and/or practical? The social networking sites only work if you give personal details. That's why I am staying away from them... I just put my name on Facebook and link to (professional) blog, which does only contains work related information, but neither my real life address nor my personal email. On the other hand the teens and twens don't hesitate to publish most private information, but they will learn that this might haunt them later - for example when the apply for a job and the company finds photographs from wild parties, alcohol abuse, e.g. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckwoww Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 I don't think there's any reason not to make up an email address and join if you just want to have a look. But anything you put on the net stays there. Most users seem comfortable putting all kinds of personal information on Facebook. It's fun. Up to them I guess. Myspace has mainly become a place to promote music etc.. Don't know about Twitter....seems to be something to do with compulsive communication. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faustian Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 I'm on most....nice to keep in touch with folks back home. Lots of Thai friends use them to. Twitter just seems to be a fad at the moment. Its days are numbered, but some folks will make millions out of it in the meantime...why anyone wants to post all their movements/thoughts...and then why anyone cares about following it/them, I've no idea...I rarely use it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gawguy Posted July 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 ...why anyone wants to post all their movements/thoughts...and then why anyone cares about following it/them, I've no idea...I rarely use it. It's good for celebrities who want to stay famous. Kevin Spacey was on Letterman the other night saying he had 80,000 people following him on twitter who could communicate with him instantly and vice versa. Politicians like Obama can use it to broadcast to their "base" to give updates and make requests. Regarding privacy and data mining: If I join facebook with a fake email and ID, will they only take the info that you give them or will they get into other info on your computer, for instance trace your IP address to a real name and address? Thanks, GG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gawguy Posted July 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 ANOTHER UGLY THING ABOUT FACEBOOK I keep getting "invitations" to join facebook as a "friend" of people I've exchanged email with. This is almost always business email. Some of it unpleasant. Or maybe it's just back-and-forth regarding something for sale on craigslist. One person who passed my email to facebook was a lowlife who had skipped out on a business debt and who I had sued. The other day someone "recommended" me and then I received an email that contained ALL the people who had recommended me to date (thankfully only 3 so far) ("these people want you to be their facebook friend") and there was the lowlife looking so respectable in her photo. This is a real personal invasion and I'm not even a member! I don't want to see this sicko's photo. I want to forget I ever knew her. I suppose what the facebook member gets out of it is someone who will look at their facebook page and take an interest in their doings? ("Here's photo's of my girlfriend, my cat, my house plants.") Who cares? If they were really friends and family you could just send emails with photos. One thing I see for sure is that a lot of people (kids mostly) have their life revolve around sites like myspace and facebook and twitter. From moment to moment they have to check in on their "friends" and see who checked in on them. This could take all of your time and you can do it anywhere in range of wifi, like school or work. Oh well, I'm sure I'm fighting the trend here... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckwoww Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 Regarding privacy and data mining: If I join facebook with a fake email and ID, will they only take the info that you give them or will they get into other info on your computer, for instance trace your IP address to a real name and address? Thanks, GG I doubt if Facebook have the resources. Homeland Security does all that stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shygye Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 Just decline AND block the facebook emails. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonjon058 Posted July 23, 2009 Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 You give the government too much credit... Link "Moronic or visionary tweets aside, what about national security? In February, CQ Politics reported that Rep. Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich., broke a national security embargo when he tweeted the details of a secret congressional trip to Iraq: "Just landed in Baghdad." From CQ Politics: Not only did Hoekstra reveal the existence of the lawmakers’ trip, but included details about their itinerary in updates posted every few hours on his Twitter page. Did we mention that Hoesktra is a ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee? Hoekstra's breach also happened to occur just months after the U.S. Army issued a report warning that Twitter was a "potential terrorist tool." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pom Michael Posted July 23, 2009 Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 About 7 or 8 years ago when this started (before Facebook) - there was a site whose name I forget. But anyway, my friend was hot on the site and wanted me to sign up as his friend. So I logged in and looked at his page, and noticed one girl on his "friends" list that I knew. Then looking at all his other friends - it was clear that all the ladies he was "working with" were now in clear view of each other. And then clicking on her page, saw the other farangs that were her "friends". Deleted my account immediately and warned my friend also. But too late, two of the girls realized also what was going on and confronted him in person! He soon deleted his account. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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