In what really shouldn't be that big a surprise, it has been reported that YouTube provided personal information about a user to a Hollywood film studio: On May 24, lawyers for Viacom Inc.'s Paramount Pictures convinced a federal judge in…
Category: Social Media
Discussions of social media platforms and their impact on communication, collaboration, sociability, privacy, and norms of information flow.
7 Laws for Privacy-Embedded Internet Identity
Ann Cavoukian, the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario, has released a whitepaper augmenting Kim Cameron's seven laws of identity with privacy protections: 7 Laws of Identity: The Case for Privacy-Embedded Laws of Identity in the Digital Age (PDF). I'm…
The Google YouTube Tango
In one corner, we have the Googlization of virtually every aspect of our online (and increasingly offline) activities, tracking your every move. In the other corner, we have the increased corporatization of Web 2.0, also interested in watching everything you…
Bubble 2.0
Reacting to the Google-YouTube deal, Seth Finkelstein shares his thoughts on the structures of what he calls "Bubble 2.0." With some well-placed humor, Seth hits the nail squarely on the head, touching on some of my general concerns with this…
Google & YouTube
About the only news that could rival North Korea's announcement of a nuclear test is the fact that Google announced its intention to buy YouTube. Not surprisingly, my first reaction is concern over the incredible data-mining opportunity this represents for…
Debrief: Social Software and Web 2.0 seminar
I presented at the Social Software and Web 2.0: Critical Perspectives and Challenges for Research and Business seminar and workshop a few days ago at Aalborg University in Denmark. My talk, "The Panoptic Gaze of Web 2.0: How Web 2.0…
Light Blogging
Blogging has been light lately as I have been quite busy in "real life": I'm pleased to announce that the "Identity and Identification in a Networked World" graduate student symposium was a smashing success this past weekend. Well over 100…
LonelyGirl15 ID’d through Amateur Data-Mining
It was recently revealed (confirmed?) that the popular online video diaries of LonelyGirl15 were not authentic, but a publicity stunt of entertainment folks linked to Hollywood talent agency CAA. Today, the real identity of LonelyGirl15 has also been revealed, mostly…
MySpace = Spam 2.0?
Trent Lapinski, a freelance writer, was hired to write an exposé about MySpace, but apparently News Corp threatened to sue his publisher if they ran the story. Instead, Lapinski sold his story to Valleywag, who decided to publish it despite…
Facebook Offers Privacy Fix, But Only If You Select It
It appears Facebook has indeed modified their controversial news feed feature to allow more user control over their own privacy. But as Mary Hodder points out, the default settings allow full sharing of informaiton: So, users still must take direct…
Read More Facebook Offers Privacy Fix, But Only If You Select It

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