Social Networking, Thanks for the Identity

Don’t put things online that you don’t want people to know.

The fact that Xanga was fined 1 million dollars for disclosing the personal information of children under 13 is a fine well dished out. (Although it’s not really possible to verify age online to begin with).

Though, this is besides the point. Children and adults alike need to be educated about what the Internet is. Anything you put online is PUBLIC – and should be treated as such.

That is why this retaliation from Facebook users on a new feature surprises me.

While a typical profile on MySpace, Friendster, Facebook, and other sites is like an encyclopedia entry, this [new feature] is like an Associated Press newswire feed, giving you an update on any changes in your friends’ lives, every time you log on. No hunting around your friend’s pages for new stuff, it all comes to you.

What did people think? If you put something online, it is out there for anyone to get – whether they have an RSS feed to it or not.

The moral of the story is if you want something to be secret don’t put it online and if you work for CNN, make sure your mic is off 😉