Starting with the new “LIKE” bar, Facebook has now become a treasure trove of data for law enforcement and government agencies alike to monitor and spy on it’s citizens around the globe. It has largely become more of a powerful tool used to collect and analyze  users input, instead of the social platform on which it was founded.  Through the use of  other so called “apps”, we can gain a significant insight about the data being collected and how much of a profiling tool Facebook has now become.

Who has access to all this information and what they may use it for should be of concern to everyone!  Are they telling us the truth about why and how they collect our data? Is our personal and private data being sold to the highest bidder?  Is all of our online information really safe as they would have us believe?

Data collection is the process of gathering and measuring information on targeted variables in an established systematic fashion, which then enables one to answer relevant questions and evaluate outcomes.

With the introduction of the new “Like” bar, Facebook may now know and record your thoughts and feelings over any given situation. It is now much easier to see and determine if the user is happy, sad, in love, is in awe, or even angry to any event, comment or post. Over the course of time this helps Facebook to build a better understanding of the users thoughts, and or reactions to a particular event or post. The more one interacts with Facebook, the more complete the profiling becomes. Thus Facebook has become a valuable tool for all law enforcement agencies, regardless if the users intent is criminal or not. It can tell the Government many different aspects of a persons character, giving them advanced notice as to how that person may react in a given situation. 

Your current “Status” may also reveal a lot of information on your current dealings or feelings, along with the time and date. You may tag people, offer up a photo, which in itself may be revealing the location and date. You can enter a “Life Event” or any other “Special Events”, or you may “Check In” telling others your whereabouts at any given time. Your activity feed then keeps track of it all, detailing all of your input and interactions across Facebook, and may be sharing this information with anyone else who may have access.

Further profiling may be obtained through the use of “third party” apps, or sites which many users find to be amusing, yet these so called apps cast suspicion on their true purpose. One such site, Nametests.com, boasts that it is a free, fun application offering free fun quizzes and online humor. Simply by placing a small ad asking, “What makes you angry?” If clicked upon, may allow the app to view and collect all of your information. Simply by allowing it access to your Facebook account, it can decipher all of your likes and comments and return a fairly accurate, if not chilling response. These responses also help to profile each individual user, which is now why so many sites offer you to connect with your Facebook account when logging in. Many other sites offer similar apps which may aid in detailing one’s likes or dislikes or other personal traits.

So… with this vast gathering of our personal information, can we be sure it is safe? Do we really believe it is to be used for the sole purpose of making our online experience more enjoyable? I for one highly doubt it! The attraction of social networking seems to be geared more towards harvesting our personal data, than as a way to communicate. If you are looking you keep your private information private, then stay away from sites like Facebook. Never at anytime link your accounts, and always use a separate login and password for every site you visit. Think before you give up that piece of information, as we have learned that in today’s society, information is one of our “most valuable” assets!

Facebook is like a fridge. You keep checking it, but there's nothing good. ~ facebook status

It was March 26th 2007 when I first logged into Facebook. And, after adding a few pictures to the family album, I spent the next couple months just browsing through the site reminiscent of my past , (some wannabe developer) and wishing that my name was Mark E Zuckerberg. But that was almost ten years ago! Today, in all modesty, I’m just happy to be the person I am. 

My first words posted on Facebook on July 26th 2007 were: : at home. I wasn’t really at home, least not the home I had hoped for, nor did I believe anyone actually cared. (Notably this was not one of the more happier times in my life!) Then along came Facebook.  Promising to connect the world, which at the time, I would have believed to be just another fairy tale. However once you were drawn in, you could then easily visualise the potential such an open community may have enabling communications around the world,  knowing very little if anything ,of the dangers it represents. It seemed like another world where one was free to privately share all their secrets, and interact freely with people all around the world. Or so we were led to believe.  Like I said previously, that was 10 years ago!

Then suddenly, everyone’s taking about it!

“Just weeks after the launch of Canada's largest-ever pro-privacy Coalition, it seems the whole country is demanding answers on the government's out-of-control surveillance.”

Not only was this happening in Canada, seems the NSA has been recording us for years without our knowledge. Thanks to Edward Snowden the NSA was exposed and shed some light on what really is going on in and around social networking sites, and Facebook in particular.

A exemplary article published by the ACLU, (American Civil Liberties Union) So you think you have nothing to hide... probably say’s it best when talking about our most personable and sensitive information!

Privacy isn't the same as secrecy. Privacy is about controlling information about you, including who knows what, under what circumstances, and when. Privacy is about being in control and in charge of your own life, and having the power to shape other people's perceptions of you. Today, we are effectively at the mercy of millions of unknown people who lord over us the power to destroy our reputations, relationships, and professional lives with the click of a button.

Yet when we look at the Facebook of today, it has become undeniably some kind of super informational commodity being bought and sold at the highest price! How subtle were the changes that led us down the path, silently robbing all civilization of our identities, whether intentional or not! I’m sure if you were to ask, your immediate response would be that is not of their intention. If like me however, you have been there from the beginning, you would now realize what a costly mistake we have all made and how Facebook , much like the other huge corporations, has slowly become just another evil empire.

What we once thought we had control over, has once again been taken over by corporate greed and the all mighty dollar. (Much like the Conservative Party has done to Canada…) Recently while touring around and trying to get a better understanding of how Facebook works, I’ve come to notice that changes are constantly and silently being made which can become pretty confusing at times for the best of us! Settings changed without notice, select posts showing in our news feeds. Missing entries in our timeline. Notes I assumed I had shared with only my friends had somehow become public for the whole world to see. Seems we have also lost the ability to share notes from one of our pages to another or share with a friend, which I must admit found a little unusual. The list of changes goes on forever. Yet like a true puppet master, Facebook has once again changed the rules to accommodate those of their shareholders who will stop at nothing , marketing our very existence to the highest bidder. Let’s just call it what it is… “Social Harvesting”

Personally, when I look at some of the newly implemented practices on Facebook,  I am deeply concerned. What showed promise to bring the world together and make it a more open and better place, is now robbing our children, and yes, even some of us other people, of our life and liberty, all while putting some imaginary price on our heads. As we all have probably seen in the coverage recently on numerous media outlets, No one is exempt It’s become our duty as parents in to instil better discipline in our children when it comes to social networking, and their online habits in general. We must teach them how to protect the very commodity they own, themselves! Not an easy task in this day and age, but a necessity. Our personal information is now fast becoming a valuable commodity, and for more reasons than one may expect.  You only have to open your mind to see the endless possibilities here.

On the other hand, I believe social networking does have it’s merits and plays an important part, as does the internet, in helping to bring people together and shape tomorrows' future. But still we must insist that our personal information remains just that, personal! Our information should not be freely shared across the web, unless of course that is what you choose. I believe that if we choose to share our personal information with sites like Facebook, Twitter,  and Linked-In etc.… Then it is they who should be held accountable and to make sure it is protected. Our information should not be freely shared at any cost, nor at any time…

Then again, who are we kidding! Welcome to Facebook in the 21st Century!

“The difference between PR and social media is that PR is about positioning, and social media is about becoming, being and improving.” – Chris Brogan

What is the true power behind social media and can it really make a difference in the world today? Recent protests in Egypt show one side of the true power behind social networking.  How a voice of one may overnight, or in a very short time, become amplified to reflect the voice of many. Having myself watched the speed and rise of the most popular social networking sites in the past decade, one has to wonder just what is the driving force behind social networking and how will it play into the next generation.

It really is quite fascinating at which the speed of social networking has grown.  From blogs to real time messages to Facebook, what is for sure to become the ultimate in social networking sites.  While the true potential behind Facebook is still to be discovered,  we can already see the ways in which it has influenced and changed the shape of the internet, and how it affects the lives of people from all around the world. 

In the internet world we see more and more sites becoming connected or associated with Facebook by the various means available.  We have like buttons, and share buttons, link buttons, and the list seems endless. Everyone want’s to be able to share their story with the world or through Facebook. Yet depending what side you represent, the way we share this information, may also be deceiving as is often the case with the Facebook (Like button). Those of us unfortunate enough to experience the sometimes unpleasantness of liking something on Facebook know all to well. Clicking on a button is not always what it may seem to be. Most times,  the real motive is not immediately known nor felt by the unsuspecting user. It only comes to light when perhaps the user’s friends demand that the unsuspecting user stop spamming their email account, or perhaps you find that something is suddenly not right with your computer. A word of advice… Stay away from the like button unless you know what it is you actually like.  Use the share button as it offers you more control over what it is you are sharing and others are less likely to be deceived.

Perhaps something greater than the deceptions though, is the power to bring people together where ever they may be and have their voice be heard throughout the world. From the current uprising in Egypt, to the cries for missing children around the world, social media has seems to have taken centre stage.  Unfortunately at this point, we’ll have to monitor closely how this will all play out in the long run.  In Egypt where censorship has once again taken control to try and shut off the voice of the people, social networking will prevail and the story will be told. With the introduction of social media, no one can stop the masses once the story is out there.  Let us remember, there is a great power behind the freedom of free speech and we must never let  the story be censored. That is the true power of social media and how it will change the world as we see it!