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27-03-2012 08:47 Richard Allan, Facebook's director of policy in Europe, talks with Ian Katz about Facebook's policy on expansion into China and how much access to users' details it is willing to allow http://www.guardian.co.uk
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Guardian Open Weekend: Facebook and China - the Guardian - Video
A new social networking trend has users getting increasingly personal with their digital content.
We are inundated with ways to share. Photos, food, news, videos, games, you name it there are innumerable platforms for sharing content with the World Wide Web. Privacy has become an increasingly important aspect of these social networks, and applications have responded to varying degrees. Google+ Circles were arguably one of the most distinct steps toward more customized sharing, and a Facebook Lists refocus followed suit.
Not good enough, say some. The private social network may sound like an oxymoron, but it is a very real emerging trend. Path could be seen as the grandfather for this momentum. The app originally introduced itself with the idea of whittling down your friend list to a select 50 people. But some other networks that have hit the market are trying to go even smaller. FamilyLeaf is a new application to connect your relatives, Nextdoor is only for you and your neighbors. Smaller yet: applications like Pair and TheIcebreak are for couples only (the latter, to be fair, is also a curated activity guide but there is a strong social element). Thats as small as your social network can get.
So whats the impetus for these increasingly exclusive platforms? You can chalk part of it up to privacy fears. Social networks have gotten big, cumbersome, and laden with concerns over where your data is going and what is being done with it. Consider that fact that these sites are go-tos for employers, users have to keep strict tabs over whats made public, whats showing up, and who they are friends with. Its a lot of work, admittedly.
At the same time, the question of whether a private social network needs to exist is begging to be asked. Isnt that what phone calls or text messages or Skype chats or emails are for? The problem of private, digital communication was solved a long time ago. Social networks became a thing because we hadnt yet found a way for mass, community-driven digital experiences. Then the Myspaces and the Friendsters came along and started that evolution, setting the stage for what we know and use today.
You could argue that the purpose of the truly private social network is to offer up all the features that public platforms do for you and your significant other. The ability to communicate via a News Feed-like function, to post and share photos and links and videos. Its more visually rich and interesting than an email or text thread maybe only slightly though. In fact ,most of the screenshots from Pair just look like an iMessage thread.
While all of these options come with their benefits (for instance with Pair you can log details like anniversary reminders and touch each other with virtual fingerprints; with TheIcebreak you get points that can be redeemed for date nights), the overwhelming emotion these platforms seem to be preying on is narcissism.
The easy culprit is to place the blame on the privacy fears that come with using sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Google+, but those alone arent entirely responsible. Part of the draw is the unquenchable thirst to digitally document ourselves that social media has created. Jon Mitchell over at ReadWriteWeb recently wrote about quitting Path:
I had my doubts about Path 2.0 when it launched. It was like a gorgeous mirror for gazing at oneself. It seemed vain and unnecessary.
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Can you really make a ‘personal’ social network?
Call 4 Action
By Karen Stiles
CREATED Mar. 27, 2012
MILWAUKEE- Could new technology or social networking sites put you at risk for identity theft?
It could, if you have not taking measures to protect your information on electronic devices or social networking sites.
How are thieves using new technology and social networking sites to steal our identity?
Most of us have been doing a good job of protecting our information by shredding old documents, and not releasing personal information to people we do not know.
However, criminals can steal personal information that we may have stored on smart phones, gaming devices, tablets, and other electronic devices.
If your device is stolen or hacked into, you could be at great risk of having your identity stolen.
Also, criminals can use information such as birthdays, maiden names, hometown, etc., listed on our profiles to gain access to our existing accounts or to establish new accounts. How do we protect this information from being accessed by thieves?
Follow this link:
High tech identity theft
CAMPBELL, CA--(Marketwire -03/28/12)- A new social network designed for adults to connect with other men, women and couples in their area for sexual rendezvous, Social Sex (www.SocialSex.com), is now the world's largest social networking dating website with more than 20 million members worldwide. Thought of as a "Facebook" for those over 18, its increasing popularity is attributed to its role as a social network where adults can easily meet and hook up with like-minded members.
Social Sex guarantees users will connect with similar singles or couples who just want to get it on! The site's search options, message boards and chat rooms make it easy for anyone to find the right hook-up no matter where they're working or living.
Whether you're straight, gay, bi, a fetishist or swinger, Social Sex is the place to find the connections you're looking for quickly and easily.
Social Sex makes online sharing and dating easy and fun by offering:
Social Sex is available internationally at socialsex.com.
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Social Network, Social Sex, Thrives as Place for Adults to Hook Up
Social networks are great, except when you need to make a change to one of your settings--then it's a veritable click-fest of wading through menus in search of just the right option. Hassle city. Last week I gave you some tips for managing Facebook photos; this week I'll tell you about a couple of great services that work with several different social networks.
BlissControl helps you manage social-network settings with ease. Just choose the setting you want to modify, then the service, and then click Go.
In an instant, BlissControl steers you to exactly the right setting page within that service. No fuss, no muss.
And no annoying login for each and every account, no setup that "grants access." That's because BlissControl doesn't actually hook into the various social networks; it's really just a wizard-driven, plain-English collection of links. But, man, is it handy.
The site offers an even dozen settings: change bio, change password, change mobile settings, change design, delete account, and so on. It supports about a dozen major networks, including Faceook, Foursquare, Instagram, Meetup, Pinterest, Tumblr, and Twitter.
BlissControl is free, easy, and fabulous--especially for users who are constantly stumbling around in search of the social-network setting they want.
Just the other day, Mrs. Hassle-Free PC was bemoaning the flood of notification e-mails she gets from Facebook. "Every time someone mentions me or shares a photo of me, I hear about it in my inbox!"
I reminded her that Facebook has settings that let you control the number and type of notifications you get.
"Great," she said, "but who's got all day to find them?"
Good point. As I've griped before, Facebook's settings are anything but intuitive. Of course, the same can be said of many other services that notify you to death.
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Manage Your Social Networking From One Spot, Cut Down on Email