Category Archives: privacy
The web needs to be bigger than Facebook
I’ve thought a bit about the announcements that Facebook has just made to make the entire web ‘social’. GigaOm has a good writeup about that here. On the surface their attempt at socializing the web fits a transformation of a … Continue reading
Posted in Facebook, privacy, user centric web
Tagged Facebook, identity, privacy, user centric web, web 2.0 business model
5 Comments
It’s time we take responsibility when it comes to a fundamental human right like privacy
[disclosure: a bit of shameless self promotion below] Last month the BBC contacted me about a feature they were preparing for their Fast Track show. They invited me over to give my opinion on a trend where people are using … Continue reading
An open letter to Mark Zuckerberg
Dear Mr. Zuckerberg, You are the CEO of one of the most fastest growing and remarkable companies in the world. You’ve created a place where 350 million people get together online and have a great time. A place where 350 … Continue reading
Posted in Alexander van Elsas, Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, privacy
Tagged Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, open letter, privacy
6 Comments
An open letter to Eric Schmidt
Dear Mr Schmidt, You are the CEO of one of the most innovative, successful and remarkable companies in the world. I deeply admire what Google has achieved in the past years. You’ve created the best search experience in the world, … Continue reading
To be free we need to break free of web 2.0 thinking
You’re meeting someone at a party for the first time. He introduces himself to you. “Hi. I’m Tim Eastwood. I’m 29 years old, live in San Francisco. I’m married to Laura, have 3 children Joe, James, and Jenny.” During the … Continue reading
Posted in business model, Facebook, privacy
Tagged business models, Facebook, identity, privacy, web 2.0
15 Comments
Two falses do not make a right
If a woman is raped, do you feel it’s her fault because she was dressed sexy and flirting a bit? If a tourist gets mugged on the streets of New York, would you agree that it’s his own fault because … Continue reading
Posted in on-line advertisement, privacy, sharing, social networks, SocialAds
Tagged online advertisement, privacy, sharing, social networks
2 Comments
The difficulty I have with privacy controls on Facebook
I’m not a regular user of Facebook. I’ve joined a long time ago, have given it a few tries and then stopped using it. There are many reasons I don’t use it. I’ve written a post a long time ago … Continue reading
Posted in business model, Facebook, on-line advertisement, privacy, Social Advertisement
Tagged business model, Facebook, on-line advertisement, privacy, SocialAds
2 Comments
Shifting the balance of power inside out solves many web 2.0 issues
What are the most important aspects for a User-Centric web to me? In a User-Centric web: I get to own my data and my interactions I control my privacy Services travel along with me, instead of me traveling to those … Continue reading
Posted in business model, Google, Google Wave, privacy, user centric web
Tagged business model, Google Wave, privacy, user centric web
1 Comment
The fundamental problem of ‘owning’ user data
I do not often agree with Facebook, but I do agree with their decision to make privacy settings of their users more important than opening up the vast amount of data they track to 3rd party developers. Marshall Kirkpatrick writes … Continue reading
Posted in business model, Facebook, freedom, privacy, social networks, web 2.0
Tagged business model, Facebook, privacy, social networks, web 2.0
4 Comments
Questions
Networks and destinations 1. If everything becomes open and connected, what will happen to the big destinations? 2. Why is the web rapidly evolving into uncountable databases with connections, instead of one database where everything connects? 3. If all services … Continue reading
The Facebook business model is the root cause of a lack of transparency
Mark Zuckerberg just announced that Facebook will revert back to the old terms of service as too many people complained about the new ones. I think it is a honorable that Facebook is retracting a pretty bad plan. It is … Continue reading
Posted in advertisement trap, business model, Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, privacy
Tagged advertisement trap, business model, Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, privacy
5 Comments
Mark Zuckerberg is answering the wrong question, and we fell for it again
There has been quite a bit of uproar about Facebook changing their Terms of Service. Unfortunately, no one is asking the right question, thus letting Mark get away with answering the wrong one. The section that created this uproar reads: … Continue reading
Posted in advertisement, business model, Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, privacy
Tagged advertisement, business model, Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, privacy
23 Comments
Privacy is not dead, it is distributed unevenly
A famous oneliner from the CEO of Sun, Scott McNealy, in 2001 was “Privacy is dead, get over it”. It sounds true. This generation is growing up with Google, social networking, and having all relevant data on the web. We … Continue reading
Posted in Facebook, Friendfeed, Google, privacy, Robert Scoble, web 2.0
Tagged Facebook, Friendfeed, Google, privacy, Robert Scoble, web 2.0
6 Comments
It is naive to think our online lives are not connected to real-life
There seems to be a strange disconnect between our online and offline lives. Different rules, norms and values seem to apply. It is as if our online personality is not connected to our real life. We act differently and feel … Continue reading
Our need for interaction locks us up
MySpace has over 200 Mln registered users. Facebook follows fast with 140Mln registered users, and they are adding an astonishing 600.ooo new users every day. A rough estimate suggests that more than half a Billion people are registered in social … Continue reading
Posted in business model, Facebook, interaction, myspace, privacy, web 2.0
Tagged business model, Facebook, interaction, myspace, privacy, web 2.0
17 Comments
5 dangers of social media
Few people seem to realize or care about the dangers social media brings to our lives. Our online habits are changing rapidly from a closed, private behavior towards an open and sharing culture. While this brings us lots of good, … Continue reading
Posted in business model, Facebook, privacy, social media, social networks
Tagged 5 dangers of Social Media, identity theft, privacy, Security
12 Comments
The unexpected dangers of Social Media
Yesterday I was going through some of my feeds when I saw something that made me stop and think for a while. It was an automatic update of Robert Scoble to Friendfeed. Robert turns out to be a Dopplr user … Continue reading
Posted in privacy, Robert Scoble, social media trends
Tagged privacy, Robert Scoble, social media trends
18 Comments
Do we really need privacy controls in Social Media?
A small discussion yesterday on Friendfeed after I posted a video that puts up a big warning about the way Facebook deals with your privacy. I do not know if any of the claims in that video are correct. Jason … Continue reading
Who are you to think you are responsible for my privacy?
An interesting panel discussion with Google and Facebook opposing each other about data portabilty. Facebook refuses for now to implement Google’s FriendConnect. The reason Facebook won’t, according to spokesmen, lawyers and other executives is that Google violates their terms of … Continue reading
Posted in advertisement trap, business model, Facebook, Friendconnect, Google, privacy, user centric web
Tagged Facebook, Friendconnect, Google, privacy, user centric web
2 Comments
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