Wordle

via Wordle.net

PRIVACY POLICY

Since Facebook is the social networking site I use most often – and therefore have the most information available on it – I chose to read their privacy policy. 

Facebook’s privacy policy is categorized, making it much easier than others to read and find exactly the information you are searching for.  Facebook’s policy on how my information is used, varies according to what kind of information it is, and what my settings are for that information.  Certain pieces of information are always publicly available: name, profile and cover photo, network, gender, user name and user ID. 

Facebook clearly states that I own all of my information.  This is an important distinction, as there have been previous issues with Facebook and other sites’ policies stating that they own all information submitted. 

Facebook uses my information to tailor ads relevant to me, provide me with location features and services, make suggestions on content (such as apps or tags), as well as other uses.

Facebook has their own “page” for security that contains resources on keeping your information safe.  However, I really had to search for information on what Facebook would do if there were a security breach, and it seems my efforts were futile.  I could not find anywhere in their privacy policy that stated what they would do if there were a security breach.  At first, I was perplexed.  However, after thinking about it, there are so many possible scenarios for a security breach, that if they had to list exactly what they would do in each case – that would make an already long policy infinite!  They do state that they make every effort to keep my information safe, but that (of course) nothing is a guarantee. 

FINDING YOURSELF

Doing a search of my full name on Google, yielded 88,600,000 results.  On the front page, most of those were from sites such as lookupanyone.com that (I assume) uses public information garnered from posted information in telephone "books", or other freely available sources.  Others were clearly not me, as I don't think I was born in 1918.  Otherwise, I'm really looking darn good for my age!  Going several pages into the search, it also did not have many hits that were actually me. 

Putting my name into quotation marks yielded just 10 results, all of which were me and from 4 different websites: intelius.com, lookupanyone.com, publicrecords.com and reunion.com.  Again, all information garnered from even pre-internet information.  However, I do not typically use my full name, so the few amount of hits was not all that surprising. 

I went ahead and put my typical name in quotes and searched on that.  It came back with 10 "personal hits" and 12,800 other hits.  The "personal hits" included images I had posted to Google+, viewable only to me (or so it says), and 2 website hits, both from Google+.  Of the "other" hits, there were 0 that were actually me within the first 3 pages.  I was only surprised my Facebook account wasn't shown.

SLIDESHARE

Why should you be Vegetarian or Vegan? from carleyprior

DIGG

Having never visited Digg.com before this evening, once I typed in the URL and pressed "enter", I was shocked to discover that an hour had quickly passed.  After all, I just clicked on that one link…  …and that one, and oh! That article looks interesting, too!  The idea behind Digg.com, is to present news stories that are the most “trending” or, most popular among internet users.  Those stories that are the most shared among users, rate higher on their list.  I found it reflected news that is far more interesting to me, personally, and news that is far more relatable.  In the past, any time that I had visited a news-based web site, I would either get bored very quickly, or leave in disgust.  With Digg.com, I (obviously!) did not have that experience.  For the first time, I feel fulfilled on my news-needs.  I noticed quite quickly that there were not nearly as many political articles, nor as many articles on murder, rape, gang violence, or any similar categories.  I personally found that absolutely refreshing.  The majority of the articles I noticed this evening were educational, informative, or even slightly eye-rolling (such as the article on men and zippers…sorry, guys :( ).  Being able to browse the categories as well was certainly a plus.  The few political based or economic articles I saw were written in a language and tone that I could understand well, were very recent, and not repetitive.  I do believe I have found a new site to love!

Social Networking in Business

Using social networking sites can be a valuable asset to a growing, or even already established, business. As an article on social networking sites refers to Metcalfe’s law: the more users a social networking site (SNS) has, the more valuable the site.  Businesses can put this to great use.  With the greater the number of potential contacts, customers, clients and partners to connect with, there is increased potential for creating new sales relationships.  This can be especially helpful for smaller businesses, where each individual contact is a large step to spreading the word of their products and services.  Also, since most SNSs are free of charge, there are little-to-no financial constraints involved.

There are many similarities between using a social networking site for business, and using one for personal reasons.  In each situation, you are typically attempting to reach out to as many people – clients or friends – as you can, with as little effort as possible.  When looking to hire or looking for a job, word of mouth – via SNSs – are going to offer the most potential opportunities in this current tech-focused atmosphere.  And, as I have found to frequently be the case, if you aren’t “plugged-in” to the SNSs, you really do tend to miss out on what’s going on with people, in your town, or even that meme of the week.  If you don’t know what events are happening, you may miss the opportunities to connect with people and expand your relationship – or your business – with them.

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/5488683/#.UUksaFf3DQE