Social Media

A buzz-worthy phrase of late has been ‘Your online footprint.’  Google alerts are filled with this concept and hit our inbox each afternoon with new information on the implications of our ‘online footprint.’  But do consumers really have an understanding of how much of their information is available online?  Or for that matter do they know how to manage it?

Imagine this, as a teenager in early-2000 you signed up for MySpace.  You added all your friends, interests and information to this page.  When you got into college you were over the moon that Facebook would be available to you.  Even before moving into your dorm you have your contact information, friends list and personal information stocked and your wall is full of friends posting about the most personal details. 

Late in college and in your early career you’d like a place for your professional information (LinkedIn), a place to share your interests (Pinterest), a place to share your most embarrassing music interests (Spotify), a place to show what place you’re at (Foursquare) and heck how about a place to update people on what you’re doing at the place you’re at (Twitter.)  It is not uncommon for a normal twenty something to have their information plastered on 7-8 massive social networks.

A common misconception online is that this information is protected.  The problem is with many of these networks it’s easy to miss or simply forget about the basic privacy settings provided which can allow any stranger to see any information you’ve provided.  This is a can of worms we’d prefer to remain closed.

With this and many other thoughts in mind Intelius has developed TrueRep.  TrueRep is a unique, innovative new product that helps answer the question, how do I manage my ‘online footprint?’

TrueRep is designed to help you:

• Learn what information is available about you online.
• Control your privacy by giving you the option to suppress your most recent contact information from appearing on Intelius websites.
• Track and manage your online reputation through TrueRep's proprietary Reputation Score.
• Add explanatory comments to background checks that others may order on you from Intelius websites.

It’s a reality that our information is spread throughout the web and it’s up to us to corral it, understand and control it.  TrueRep for the first time allows users to have access to their information in one central location.  Your ‘online footprint’ suddenly doesn’t seem so daunting.

-Ian Dinsmore

Posted by Jim Adler, Chief Privacy Officer at Intelius

There’s been a lot of recent debate around the use of online names sparked by the Google+ real names policy. The stark absolutism of this debate baffles me, as if we had to choose between them. It’s a false choice. We should have them all. As we map human social customs online, nuance and context rule. Inflexible policies and binary choices are a cop-out. Life’s complicated and more interesting that way. As I recently tweeted in a privchat:

There are legit use-cases for pseudonyms so they shouldn’t be banned. But they are certainly unnatural for mainstream use. #privchat

This got me thinking about how many real names are typical for each person? I did a quick look across the Intelius public-records corpus of a few hundred million people and counted the number of real names per person. The results are what you might expect:

The vast majority of people, 83%, have one full-name [Just to be clear, Sarah Jessica Parker may also go by Sarah Jessica Broderick. Those would count as two real names.] A significant minority, 11%, have two names. I imagine that most of the people with two names are married women who are recently married or simultaneously maintain their maiden and married names (typical of professional women). It’s a little surprising that 6% have more than two names. I wonder how many people in this set have criminal records?

So far, the nymwars debate has largely been framed around the 17% that have more than one name. But there are strong pro and con arguments for nyms, pseudonyms, and anonyms. What, the totality of human social engagement can’t be pigeonholed into a single use-case? Hmm, Surprising.

Nyms

Whether offline or online, the vast majority of us build trusted relationships and reputation around our real name. Real names are easy and natural. I use my real name on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. One of Facebook’s best strategic moves was encouraging use of real names. Generally, real names encourage real interactions and weakens the barrier between offline and online experiences. However, requiring real names is an 83% solution that’s fueling a Google+ backlash from the other 17%.

Pseudonyms

There’s a host of reasons for pseudonyms, many of which have been cataloged during the recent nymwars. An example of a pseudonym is Twitter’s PogoWasRight, which is used persistently and has established respect within the privacy community. Pseudonyms are not new as Samuel Clemens proved more than 130 years ago.

The challenge with pseudonyms is that they are tough to manage. I know several professional women that simultaneously maintain two legal names. They are in a perpetual state of multiple account management—”which name did I use for this account again?” I founded a startup several years ago that tried to crack this problem. It’s a bear.

Anonyms

As for anonyms, they are distinct from pseudonyms. The intent with pseudonyms is to build a long-lived identity that’s separate from our real identity. In stark contrast are anonyms (e.g., fymiqcxw) which are throw-away identities that in nearly all cases (except political dissent) have nefarious intent. Online anonyms too often encourage what psychologists call deindividuation. Nothing empowers a psychopath more than an audience and a mask.

The key takeaway is—whether nym, pseudonym, or anonym—trust, accountability, empathy, and civility are built around knowing whom you’re dealing with. As we move through this continuum, we move away from “real” relationships. If that’s your intent, fine. The nymwars debate is larger than the real name policies of any social network. It is a further evolutionary move toward mapping our social norms online. Sure, it’s messy. Most human endeavors are.

More from Jim Adler, Chief Privacy Officer at Intelius

Now young adults, our kids have been on social networks since their early teens. Being a technology family, our policy has been to encourage supervised experimentation. So even though our boys weren’t afforded complete privacy, they were permitted age-appropriate control and authority over their social situations.

Of course, the weasel words here are age-appropriate, which we parents unilaterally define — a prerogative of being the prison warden. True enough, but we’ve always told our kids: “It’s the job of your mother and I to make the rules. It’s the job of you guys to negotiate change.” And that’s worked pretty well over the years.

At last week’s Computer, Freedom, and Privacy conference, danah boyd (she prefers the cummingsian capitalization) struck a similar chord, pointing out that social norms define privacy boundaries. So for Father’s Day, I thought I’d share some personal lessons with my fellow fathers on the social norms that have shaped the privacy boundaries of my kids’ online lives.

1. Parents should be seen and not heard.
   My very informal, unscientific poll says that parental engagement should be no more than 5%. That means you should only like, comment, or retweet 1 in 20 of your kids’ posts.
2. Don’t overreact.
   A corollary to #1. Of the 1 in 20 posts where you do respond, keep it breezy. Remember that your kids’ friends are watching the online exchange, and they really don’t need to be reprimanded or gushed over in front of their friends. Take it offline or to a private message.
3. Don’t pollute their feed.
   I’m guilty of this one. For awhile, I didn’t appreciate the boundaries between social networks, so my work-related LinkedIn and Twitter updates were piped to my Facebook feed. I was penalty-boxed by my youngest who said “No one [on Facebook] knows or cares about any of this business stuff, Dad. Jeez!” Ugh, point taken.
4. Don’t hack.
   This is pretty basic but don’t break into your kids’ account. If you really have probable cause for a search and seizure, be upfront about it. Spying and lying always undermine the trust in a relationship. Duh.
5. Don’t judge.
   Social circles are always in flux, so don’t judge your kids’ friends by what they post or say among themselves. There are exceptions to this rule but realize, as a parent, you only have a few chits to spend before you get tuned out.
6. Don’t ask, don’t tell.
   As a parent, you’ll undoubtedly be perplexed by the jargon, context, and outright subterfuge of their online communication. You can’t really ask what’s going on. As danah boyd put it, your kids are hiding in plain site amidst the constant gaze of parents and teachers. Respect what little private space they have. Remember that you are largely a visitor in this strange land. At best, you’re tolerated; at worst, despised.
7. What happens online stays online.
   Try not to use their online activity against them offline. Just because your thirteen year-old son Like’d Spongebob doesn’t give you license to blab about it to everyone at the next neighborhood barbecue.
8. Mind your own privacy settings.
   Your kids don’t want to see your party pictures. Be a role model. They are watching you, too.
9. Don’t friend their friends.
   I hope this one is plainly obvious, but unless you really are friends, don’t be the “cool parent” and horn into your kids’ social circle.
10. You’re a parent, act like one.
    As your kids get older, they may not see you as simply the prison warden but as an actual person. Remember, they can see your feed, too. I’ve shared interesting stuff that my kids actually have Like’d or commented on. And maybe some of that feedback wasn’t just to suck-up. I can dream, can’t I? After all, it is Father’s Day.

More from Jim Adler, Chief Privacy Officer at Intelius

With an estimated 3.7 billion phishing emails sent in the past year it is no surprise that phishers have set their sights on Twitter. The latest phishing scam sweeping the ‘Net' is a spam campaign designed to look like legitimate Twitter notifications.

The emails take many forms: Some resemble messages from Twitter customer support claiming that the site has detected an attempt to steal the receiver's Twitter password. Others claim that the recipient has changed the e-mail address associated with their account and ask them to confirm. The links in these emails lead either to a downloadable "secure module" which the emails claim will protect the account but is actually malware or to a phishing site designed to steal the user's account information. Online pharmacy spammers have also taken to Twitter-formatted emails to advertise non-FDA approved pills.

Those these scams don't seem very threatening at first (I mean, how much damage can some do with 140 characters?) but the repercussions having your Twitter account hacked are HUGE! Many people use the same password they use for Twitter for many other online sites; from Facebook to online banking, people just aren't taking necessary precautions with their passwords. So, if you enter your account information into phishing site and you use the same password for Twitter as sites like Facebook or your email that may house more personal information, the scammer can potentially get into your other accounts.

These scams, discovered by Trend Micro, are easily avoidable if you are aware of them and know what a legitimate Twitter email does and does not contain.*

• Twitter does not send links to "secure modules".

• Twitter emails request confirmations include the new account information.

• Twitter emails do no describe or promote new services or products.

* Twitter email specifications via Trend Micro

Before you get hacked, consider taking these precautions:

• Always read emails completely and thoroughly before clinking though the links. It can take a while for news of the latest scam to reach your ears so keeping a vigilant eye on all your emails is a must!

• Use different, high quality, passwords for Twitter, Facebook, your email, and your online banking account. Secure passwords contain a random series of lower and upper case letters, numbers, and approved symbols. Such passwords should be more than 8 characters in length

• Consider and Identity Protection service. Investing in and identity protection service, such as Intelius IdentityProtect, can prevent a scammer that acquires your information from using it. This useful advantage could save you tons of time and money.

The mass ‘unfriending’ of Facebook has signaled the public’s dissatisfaction with the social networking site’s privacy policies. Social networking sites have provided millions of people with the ability to connect and keep up to date with friends and family around the world. From keeping up with friends from the past to helping you form new ones, social networking certainly has its purpose; as long as you’re ‘safe’.  Even with their ambiguous privacy settings and indiscernible security policies, no matter how insecure centralized social networks become, without a viable alternative the vast majority of users will not abandon sites like Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, and Bebo. Enter Diaspora*.

Diaspora*, the new craze in social media has already raised nearly $200,000 in pledges via the funding website kickstarter in less than one month. That’s 1792% of what the four guys from NYU requested to help them make it through the summer! But what makes Diaspora* worth $200,000? I mean, do we really need ANOTHER social networking site? No. This is why Diaspora* got our attention—Diaspora* promises to be a “privacy aware, personally controlled, do-it-all, distributed, free, open-source social network.”

What this means is that, as individuals, we will each be able to download the Diaspora* software (which the Diaspora* team hopes will go live in September) onto our OWN computers and from there, set up our OWN ‘seeds’ (mini social networks). Each user will be in complete control of what they send to whom. There will be no hub and no moderator. Add a user-friendly interface and a sleek design and everyone will want to have their own ‘seed’.  The privacy settings will all be automatic. With heavy encryption and full user control, Diaspora* has the potential to make social media privacy concerns a thing of the past.

As co-founder, Maxwell explains, Diaspora* will allow you to store all of your information (photos, comments, conversation threads) in one place: your seed. From there, you will be able to push pieces of that information out to whichever ‘friends’ you choose to share it with. After all, when we share data online there is no guarantee that, even if we delete it, that information won’t be available on someone else’s computer due to archiving. Since the internet is still relatively new, as far as anyone knows, the information we’ve posted across the social web will exist forever. But, as the Diaspora* project is set to prove, it doesn’t have to be that way. As the guys put it, “Sharing is a human value,” and everyone should be able to share what they like with who they like without fear of identity theft or damaging their reputation.

As summer approaches, this year's graduates are revamping their resumes and preparing to enter the job market. In today's competitive economy, everything counts in the job search process and resumes aren't the only thing potential employers will be evaluating. A growing trend of employers going online to research applicants means that graduates may need to give their online presence a professional make-over before they apply for their dream job. 

A recent poll conducted by The Creative Group (a specialized staffing service) indicates that 72% of advertising and senior marketing executives were likely to run a web search of the candidate, 59% said they would check to see if the candidate has a LinkedIn profile, 44% would check for a Facebook profile, 35% would read blog posts, and 23% would monitor a candidate on Twitter. Another study indicated that 33% of employers have decided not to make a job offer based on what they saw on social networking profiles while 20% extended an offer based on the online content.

Managing your online presence may be the key to getting a job these days. The following tips will help you whip your online identity into shape and create a polished, professional, workforce-ready persona.

• Delete anything controversial, unflattering, or inappropriate. Go through your profiles and un-tag yourself from any photos you don't want an employer to see. Delete any wall posts, twitter posts, or comments that might reflect poorly on you. Either delete or hide any inappropriate Apps, groups, links or fan pages available on your profile. Review your blog: Have you posted anything controversial recently? If you have either archive it or delete it. · Get to know your privacy settings. Having a closed or private profile can help protect some of your information. To do this go into the profile settings and review your privacy options. On many of the popular social networking sites allow users to select the level of privacy and sharing. Privacy or sharing settings can range from a public profile that allows anyone to view all the information in your profile without your permission to a private profile that limits people who can view your information to those you know and have approved.

• Search yourself. Run your name through Google, Facebook search, Twitter Search, and LinkedIn and see what comes up. It's important for you to know what information on you is easily available. Once you have your results, delete anything that might be unflattering or controversial. If there is anything you can't delete, be ready to explain it to your potential employer if they ask about it.

• Get Involved & Contribute. If you're looking to get into a specific industry, get active online using social networking sites, comment on appropriate, high-quality posts, articles, or tweets across your network, share interesting articles and join groups that align with your professional interests. Demonstrate that you can be active in social media in a meaningful and valuable way.

• Be up-to-date. Make sure your social networking profiles contain up-to-date information, particularly your LinkedIn profile. Also, use your profiles to highlight the things that make you an ideal job candidate - your hobbies, industry organizations, any/or charity work. Talk about it, post pictures of it. Your social profiles should be positive, not just non-negative.