Privacy And The Social Web
The foundation of Plerts was built on the idea of protecting your privacy. As such Plerts is a single-person system that does not require someone monitoring your every move. All activity can be kept completely private, and your location is never exposed to the public unless there is an emergency. As other social networks change their privacy policy to fit their own ideals, Plerts will never change this fundamental aspect of our service. Privacy is absolutely important to us, it’s our cornerstone.
In 2007, social media hit critical mass marked by a new phenomenon of sharing. By no surprise identity theft is up 37% since 2007, and has affected 11.1 million people in the United States alone. Unfortunately, privacy is not fully appreciated until it’s violated, and the consequences and inconveniences are felt for years to come. Identity theft can make it extremely difficult to apply for jobs or secure a mortgage to buy a house.
As full-featured smart phones reach critical mass, the social web is embracing geographic location in status updates. Popular location-based networks like Gowalla and Foursquare recently expanded their service with the release of public APIs. While it’s certainly fascinating to watch location interaction, the information that’s publicly available can be unsettling.
It’s important social services address the privacy issue head on. Sites like PleaseRobMe.com illustrate the fundamental issue, but scrape the surface of a deeper and more complex problem. Depending on a person’s level of participation and habits across various networks, it’s possible to locate their home and work address, employment history (LinkedIn), family and pet names, favorite hobbies and entertainment (Facebook/MySpace), location they last shopped (Gowalla/Foursquare), and even the exact amount they spent (Blippy). All of above are the root answers for common security questions protecting private information such as bank accounts, credit cards, email security, health records, and other personal details.
If you’re interested in privacy, over-sharing, and the social web, please visit the following websites for more information:
- Identity Theft – http://www.fightidentitytheft.com
- Location Privacy – http://www.eff.org
- Over-sharing & Location Awareness – http://www.cdt.org
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