Week 7 Board Discussions – SNS

Author: Cynthia Verspaget
Date: Tuesday, October 13, 2009 11:35:22 AM WST
Subject: Discussion Thread: Social Networking and copyrightIn relation to what you have read and experienced about the TOS (Terms and Services) of social networking sites, think about the copyright issues you face as a user of these sites/services…

 

What
do you think about the ownership and use as in the terms and services
of SNS’ ? Do companies have the right to use data as we have outlined, data has value in the information economy?  What do you think about the comment that ‘these companies
trade in data’?

 

I have never heard of the term “human readable”, however, awhile I was doing some research and needed to view the EULA for Windows, after some Google searching I found a site that uses a simple table to explain the lawyer speak. Slated.org. I have seen more and more of these simply stated licences, they should include something like this for everything you need to agree to.

A site like Facebook and Myspace are perfect for companies to gain information. Say you are website designer and you get an email list from Facebook of those members who have clicked on the ad for website designers. Having a list of people who are actively search for a new website is pure gold to a company.

One thing you can do is get a domain and setup the email to allow wildcards. When you sign up to a new site, use the email sitename@yourdomain.com. It is interesting to see which companies are passing on your information.

When it comes to companies trading information, I really do not care these days, I just wish they had the stones to actually say we will sell your information.

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Author: Cynthia Verspaget
Date: Tuesday, October 13, 2009 11:35:48 AM WST
Subject: Discussion Thread: Privacy RE boyd Ellison Reading

Privacy
The boyd & Ellison paper and the curriculum mentions privacy concerns as a major theme in cultural and critical discourse on social networking and its well worth having a think about!

The paper outlines SNS’ as challenging legal perspectives of privacy
and asks “do police officers have the right to access content posted to
Facebook without a warrant?” When do you think a social network is
private and when is it public?

How
do earlier identity modes such as anonymous identities in earlier
virtual communities compare with public identities in SNS’ such as
Facebook? What do you think about the conflict between privacy and the
need to share data (as stated in the curriculum – that’s what social
networking is about isn’t it?).

I think we will find the issue of Privacy on SNS a major issue as the majority of people understand what they actually signup for and who has the ability to see what you post. Personally I have no issue with police looking at my Facebook page, I have nothing to hide, I am not involved in illegal activity and if I was I sure wouldn’t post about it.

Having said that I feel a user should really know who is able to view their details and comments, because it is not only the police who may view your information, also the criminals. This article in The Province points out how a simple post can invite criminals into your home. The quote in this piece from a real life burglar is very interesting “There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that burglars are using social networks to develop relationships with people to identify likely targets.”

For those in South Australia I am sure you know about the Gang of 49, they are extremely violent criminals, well something interesting happened awhile ago. The story in The Australian appeared saying that a fanpage on Facebook appeared for this Gang of 49, so my question is if the criminals can use SNS isn’t it good to know that the police do as well?

 

NOTES

For Social Networking Sites…User can

• construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system.
• articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection.
• view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system.

It is very important to read the privacy information and terms of service for any SNS.