LinkedBook - or just InYourFace?

A lot of us have come to expect, if not completely accept, that Facebook will farm out their users data to advertisers faster than a crop-crazy Farmville aficionado, given half the chance and a way to slide it into some New and Improved User Preferences. LinkedIn, that quasi-professional counterpart in the major social media arena, has seemed less inclined to stoop to such unprofessional tactics.

Until now.

I don’t much appreciate the irony that only recently did I decide to go ahead and share my one and only photo on Linkedin. Being somewhat camera-shy, I was careful to make sure it was shared only with those already in my network. Granted, anything posted on the intarwebs is out there for all to see if they really know how to find it. That doesn’t mean I want my social networking venue furtively taping my image to the cyber-walls as they see fit for fun and profit (it's bad enough that I just gave people I actually know tacit permission to do so). It doesn’t mean I’m automatically agreeing to be affiliate advertising fodder, either.

Considering that one of the main things people do on LinkedIn is business related networking, the ramifications of having your profile information and/or your photos affiliated (bad pun absolutely intended) with advertising you may or may not want to endorse - or you may or may not even feel is appropriate - are potentially more than simply annoying or embarrassing. LinkedIn promises you'll be connected to ads "related" to content you have publicly endorsed. The problem is, the term "related" is open to a lot of interpretation, and the further down the chain it goes, the more (mis)interpreted it can get, especially if that interpretation is being done by marketing algorithms. I'm sure we've all gotten search results sprinkled with suggestions that were pretty well removed from what we were actually looking for. I've definitely gotten "You might also like" suggestions that I definitely would NOT want to "like", not even on Facebook. Most certainly not on LinkedIn.

The delivery method leaves a bit to be desired, as well. Opt outs are, IMHO, all too often underhanded tactics used to get people to consent to, or even purchase, services and goods they would otherwise avoid, given full disclosure. I suppose I shouldn't complain. A good part of my income comes from cleaning bloatware off computers where the user wasn't careful enough to opt out of everything but what they intended to install. Still, both from a consumer advocate perspective, and a LinkedIn user perspective, this is one option I couldn't opt out of fast enough.

Before you decide this is yet another privacy-tempest-in-a-teapot, you might want to let your imagination run a little wild on how your endorsement of streaming cable TV could ultimately wind up being represented. Some of that late night programming might not be the kind of fare you want paired with a personal photograph...or, then again, it might (and if it is, you probably should at least make sure your photo is "appropriately" flattering...*cough*). Then you can decide if you want to opt out of LinkedIns latest offering - or not.

Update: Attitudes can result in adjustments.

It's nice to know the noble motivation comes back to that ubiquitous excuse of "delivering useful ads" . Personally, I've never yet had an ad delivered that I found useful. I suppose it could happen someday, but I'd still rather not find myself making a surprise appearance in one.

Data Privacy Day Checklist

Rather than add to the previous post, I decided a true celebration of Data Privacy Day deserved a post all its own, and what better way to celebrate the date than with a list of Data Privacy To Dos! Don't think that sounds fun? Put it in perspective: would discovering someone's gone hogwild with your Amazon (or PayPal) account be fun? How about suddenly getting a flurry of unhappy replies from friends and family (or coworkers) to some offensive email you don't remember sending? I don't think that's fun. If you do, I'm guessing this is where you'll stop anyway, if you even made it this far. However, if such or similar scenarios are on your Not Fun List, you might want to check out my list of a few ways to avoid them.

Review all your passwords (and they'd better not be on a large post-it stuck to the bottom of your keyboard, either).
Are they on this list? Don't pat yourself on the back just yet if the answer's "no"; you might want to check this list too. Still in the clear? Maybe - depending on whether you can also answer "no" to the next question.

Do you use one password for everything?
If so, you need to make a list of your own: of all the stuff someone would have access to if they got hold of that ONE little word. Write it all down, look it over, and think about it. Now imagine it in the hands not just of someone, but someone who really, really doesn't like you. Feeling any password creativity yet? If you need a little help, here are some tips:

1. Choose a strong password, with numbers and even punctuation marks as well as letters. Substitute numbers for vowels, for example: p4ssw0rd (NO, DON'T USE THAT). Pick a line from a favorite song or poem, and use the first letters of each word. Mary Had A Little Lamb = MHALL (NO, DON'T USE THAT EITHER). If you've just got to use your pet's name, spell it backwards. If your pet's name is Spot or Rover, give him a middle name (preferably a long one) and use both.

2. Use a different password for all websites/accounts. Write them down if you must, but keep them in a safe place; under your keyboard or taped to your monitor doesn't count. I'm not a keen proponent of the old "stash it in your wallet" routine, either. Yeah, if you lose your wallet your day's already in the toilet, but why add to the booty if someone other than a Good Samaritan finds it? Besides, do you really need to carry all your passwords with you everywhere?

3. Never let websites "save" passwords for you. That cute little "remember me" box next to your Twitter login? UNcheck it. That's actually saving your password to your computer hard drive, usually in a simple cookie and all too often unencrypted. If your computer gets compromised by a malware ridden banner ad or flashing pizza coupon, or your laptop gets boosted in an airport lounge, guess what's the first thing bad guyz look for? Don't trust your computer to remember your passwords or keep them secure. You really shouldn't trust your computer for much of anything, anyway. Ultimately, computers are dumb. You can trust me on that.

Designate ONE credit card for online use, or see if your credit card company offers a virtual credit card service.
Using one credit card soley for online use makes it easier to spot red flag fees or charges, and if you smell smoke and have to put out a fire, you won't also be having to cancel the same card you use for dining out or keeping your wardrobe up to date. "Disposable" or "virtual" credit card numbers are also now offered by many financial services. They're one hoop jump too many for me personally (well, so far), but worth consideration at least for one-time purchases, or trial offers that also "offer" to automatically opt you in for the rest of your natural life - though bear in mind on that latter, if you did implicitly agree to some Neverending Subscription, you could still legally be on the hook. RTFP (Read The Fine Print). Never EVER use your debit card online if you can avoid it, and always practice safe online shopping.

Set up a "junk" email account.
Don't use your primary email address for casual shopping, social networking, or submission to any website that requires one before you can read the last sentence of a tantalizing news article (or leave a snarky comment on the same). Set up a separate email account with one of the many free web email services available, and whatever you do, DON'T immediately import your entire address book into the thing. Don't fill out a profile with your full name, complete home address, and life history, either; that utterly defeats the purpose. The idea is to cut back on the info merchants and advertisers can mine from you, as well as give them someplace else to send their spam.


I'll save my list of browser tips for another post (everyone can stop cheering now), and end here wishing a happy Data Privacy Day to all. If anyone has other tips or tricks to share, please do so! And if (again) it appears my tinfoil hat's a little tight, remember bad things don't always happen just to other people. Someone's got to make up the statistics, and if you don't preemptively stack a few odds in your favor, your number could be next.

This Luddite still cares about privacy

Apparently, privacy is not only really, really dead, but anyone who cares about that fact, or thinks there's any point in guarding any last spark of life remaining, is out of step with the rest of humanity, and in fact, a complete Luddite.

Move over, fellow Luddites, here I come. Count me as one of the I am not We Tribe.

From where I sit tending my little fire, it appears the Privacy Is Dead advocates largely fall into two groups:

Those who don’t care about others privacy because they stand to make a pile of money off it;

Those who don’t care about their own privacy because they’ve already sold it.

That much of our privacy is already long gone isn’t even a relevant argument. All we’ve really done is complete yet another circle and come back to the lack of privacy people took for granted when everyone DID still live in caves.

Eventually, though, some people probably started picking out their own corner of the cave so they could get a *little* privacy. I don’t know if they got whacked with a mammoth bone by one of the cave Social Leaders and told “Don’t bother trying that, your privacy’s already so much sabertooth scat.”, but if they did and they didn’t like it, they had the option of going out and finding a cave of their own. If they turned around and invited a whole bunch of other people to join them, well, that was their choice.

What the Privacy Is Dead theory tries to convince us is that we don’t have that option anymore, and with that I disagree. I’d go even further and say it seems some (marketers) are determined to pound home (with or without mammoth bones) the notion that we don’t even have the right to TRY to have that option, and with that I REALLY disagree.

I’m not going to give up fighting for my own corner of the cave. If I have to go find another cave and start over, so be it. If I do, you’d better believe I want control over who – if anyone – I decide to invite to join me.  Maybe I'll just visit with a few like-minded neighbors from the caves next door.

I’m not worried about keeping out the sabertooths, either. I’m pretty handy with those mammoth bones. :-P