Some people think of it as the dark side of using social media: potential oversharing. Things can indeed get dark, if we get so fixated on the darkness that we can't see or learn about the alternatives. Better to get informed and act on that information! Mashable does a great job of showing how oversharing can happen using different kinds of applications in Facebook – e.g., what songs you're … [Read more...] about The downside of social media convenience
Facebook’s ‘Timeline’: More than a new look
If Facebook's newly fashioned user profile, Timeline, says anything, it says that what you post on the social Web is forever (but it does say more – keep reading). In many ways, Timeline is a safety- and privacy-education tool right in your face (on your screen), as you go. Because "Timeline collects and chronicles everything you’ve ever posted to Facebook," Slate reports. It used to be that all … [Read more...] about Facebook’s ‘Timeline’: More than a new look
Facebook passes Irish privacy commissioner’s test
"Facebook's handling of its user data in Ireland is legitimate," The Register cites the just-released report of the Irish data protection commissioner's office as saying. So basically, FB passed Europe's privacy test (Ireland is Facebook's international headquarters, responsible for all non-US and Canadian data since last year). "The reality was that Facebook isn't breaching European law," The … [Read more...] about Facebook passes Irish privacy commissioner’s test
How/what media we share (by 1 measure)
If Web users' use of "AddThis" is a measure of how people share media – and Ad Age thinks it is – then Facebook accounts for more than half (52%) of our media-sharing, but "Twitter was up 577% this year" overall (13.5% of sharing) and accounted for 52% of media-sharing in Japan, interestingly. Tumblr came in third overall, at 1,299.5% growth (fastest-growing). Google's +1 button has plateaued, Ad … [Read more...] about How/what media we share (by 1 measure)
Will the global village have a ‘911’?
This is an important next step for suicide prevention as well as social media. Facebook and the US's National Suicide Prevention Lifeline have just announced a partnership that links Facebook users expressing suicidal thoughts directly to live chat with a crisis counselor at the Lifeline. Before, and like other social-media services, Facebook would just send the distressed user the Lifeline's … [Read more...] about Will the global village have a ‘911’?