1. The Dark Side of Social Awareness
A few weeks ago I published a post that focused on a growing trend in social
media: the social awareness app. In a nutshell, these apps use a combination
of geo-location and social data to show you people who are around your
physical location with whom you can connect. In that post, I proposed that the
apps could have positive business applications if they are used correctly. As
we all know, there will always be those who take a perfectly legitimate idea
and twist it for wrongdoing. An example of this is “Girls Around Me”, an app
that was recently deleted from Apple’s App Store. The app allowed the user to
view women around them via a combination of Foursquare and Facebook
data without their consent.
However, I still stand by my claim that social awareness apps can be beneficial
for business purposes. That being said, it is very important to understand that,
now more than ever, there are some key considerations you should make
when using personal social media in a business environment.
First, privacy is a myth. Many people have seen the viral Facebook post where
an employee bashes her boss and, because she had friended him earlier but
forgot about it, he read the post and fired her. Because of the perceived
separation between our personal and professional lives, many employees do
not connect with co-workers or bosses on social media. That doesn’t
necessarily matter anymore. While “Girls Around Me” faced harsh criticism
and was removed from the App Store due to its high creep factor – not to
mention it was essentially a form of social stalking – there is no reason to
believe that new apps won’t be developed that combine network data. It could
be similar to “Girls Around Me”, combining geo-location data with popular
network data, or it could amalgamate other networks. The point is that work
conversations are easier and easier to find out, whether by nosy higher-ups or
business competitors.
Second, and perhaps more importantly, you should assume all information
you put online is eternal and easily accessible. The truth is, the only thing that
really limits access to data is privacy settings. However, when you post
information through a social networking service, the number of ways the data

2. can be leaked from even the most locked down of profiles is staggering.
Further, because so many apps now connect with popular services such as
Facebook and Twitter, privacy has become even less secure. Many of these
apps require that users let them access personal data and even post as them
to Facebook.
Now, that’s not to say that apps requesting these permissions are malicious;
most of the time they simply post fun updates or check-in information.
However, each app provides a potential backdoor into profile information.
Social connectivity means that data can be rapidly proliferated to LOTS of
people. This can be both a good and a bad thing. While many people use
circles, groups, etc. to change who they broadcast statuses and information to,
it is still wise to make sure that you are comfortable with anyone being able to
see anything you put online. If someone wants to see what you are posting on
your social networks, odds are they can. If you are posting negative comments
about your employer, or sensitive information that you would otherwise want
to keep private, be aware that this new wave of tools could make it nearly
impossible to maintain a discrete social conversation.
The bottom line – use common sense. If you don’t want someone to see the
information, don’t put it out there.
I want to hear some specific examples you’ve seen of this, either by you or
others. Tell me about them!
Read more: http://blogs.cio.com/consumer-it/16972/dark-side-social-awareness