Strategic Social Networking - Archive

Banking on Social Money Apps

Could technology consumers’ dual obsession with all things mobile and social finally, literally pay off? According to the Chicago Tribune article “Money Goes Mobile in Cutting-Edge Tech Tools” the recent Finovate Spring 2012 conference announced some new products from 64 privately funded companies that can take existing mobile technology and use it for a variety of money making and money saving purposes.

Among the most interesting of the presentations were representatives from TweedlePay and GoalSaver, whose use of pre-existing social technologies have made it possible to develop and launch useful money-oriented products in a short amount of time. TweedlePay used the structure of Twitter and the functionality of BancBox to create a Tweet-based payment system. GoalSaver utilizes s familiar social networking format to improve the saving process for a particular goal (like college or buying a home) in a public environment where friends and strangers can track a user’s progress and even make monetary contributions.

SaveUp, another uniquely mobile method for saving money is described in the article:

“We turn savings into a game,” SaveUp CEO and co-founder Priya Haji said as she went through her seven-minute pitch in front of several hundred bankers, investors and bloggers at the San Francisco conference that ended Wednesday. “You save money, you earn credits, and you use your credits to win sponsored prizes from companies like Banana Republic and Virgin Airlines.”

Some of these new products could easily improve the way we handle money electronically by simplifying and streamlining buying and investing on the web. Those that integrate existing technology may be the first to find success since they are already familiar to the public, though consumers may want to approach with caution initially. Social networking sites like Facebook have already seen major security issues concerning user data, and with the addition of more private information and connectivity, networks like this will need to prove that their data protection passes the test. Startups with similar functionality but of a smaller, tighter scope may find themselves on top in the long run if security issues emerge. That said, these and the other products point to a simpler, more connected way of managing money in the near future.

Derek Clark, May 17, 2012

Is Google Drive Proposing Personal Data Privacy or Not?

May 9th, 2012 | Posted by admin in cloud computing | networking | News | Privacy - (0 Comments)

Google Drive is a cloud storage and sync service from Google and is an extension of Google Docs. Google Drive gives the user 5 gigabytes to start with and offers extra storage for a low monthly rate. In the article, “Will Google Drive Snoop Inside Your Data? Google Needs To Be Clearer”, privacy issues are discussed. Also proposed in the article is a “by permission only” clause to be built into the license agreement to protect user privacy.

In the blanket license for Google Drive Google states:

“The rights you grant in this license are for the limited purpose of operating, promoting, and improving our Services, and to develop new ones.”

In its “terms of service” Google continues:

“You retain ownership of any intellectual property rights that you hold in that content. In short, what belongs to you stays yours.”

The information in this article suggests Google may have built loop holes into their blanket license agreement for their own use for future gain. When a service offers cloud storage of personal data privacy of that data should be guaranteed and the number one objective. We ask what is the fair exchange for the “free” service and the pay-back for offering the storage space in a land where nothing is “free” and consumers pay less attention to their own privacy in the glittering gold of social networking and cloud computing?

Sandy McIntosh, May 9, 2012

Is Google Violating Laws or Offering Better Service

March 15th, 2012 | Posted by admin in business process | News | Privacy | search engine - (0 Comments)

Google has been asked to suspend and make over its internet privacy policy, which is, at the time of this writing, already in place. This request was sent to Google via a letter by a couple of consumer groups that represent America and Europe to regulate and promote policies in such areas as Internet Use, Intellectual Rights and Food. This information is featured in an article, Google Privacy Changes Labeled Unfair and Unwise by Consumer Groups

In a separate article, a spokesperson for Google made this statement:

“Over the past month we have asked to meet with the CNIL on several occasions to answer any questions they might have, and that offer remains open,” a Google spokesman wrote in a letter to the commission. We believe we’ve found a reasonable balance between the Working Party’s recommendations: to “streamline and simplify” our policies while providing ‘comprehensive information’ to users.” – Google’s New Privacy Policy Goes Into Effect Mar. 1

Also, in this article, Morgan Reed, executive director of the Association for Competitive Technology, a trade group, had this to say:

“Let’s not forget, Google is a huge advertising business – and this was coming.”

Google, as well as other web companies, and without end users approval, has been caught tracking browsing habits. Although Google explains they are working to improve the quality of their service to users, the maneuvers used suggest unethical behavior. However, at the expense of losing credibility, Google is going forward and not backing down on their position. Google claims their intent is to improve the quality of search results, and help combat Internet site vulnerabilities, such as service denial attacks.

Sandy McIntosh, March 15, 2012

Twitter Develops Censorship Technology

Reporting from Beijing, The Wall Street Journal announces, “Twitter Can Censor by Country.” The news must please censorship proponents the world over, perhaps even a few in the US Congress.

Journalists Loretta Chao and Amir Efrati inform us:

“Twitter Inc. says it can now make content selectively available to users based on geography, and plans to use that ability to enter countries with ‘different ideas’ about freedom of expression as a human right—reflecting the difficult ethical questions facing Internet companies.

“The effort underscores thorny issues for Internet companies as their websites become more global and interconnected among different countries, and as they must cooperate with diverse views on Internet content control. For websites like Twitter as well as social-networking site Facebook, this has meant being blocked in countries like China where controls are more aggressive.”

To be fair to Twitter, the issue of censorship in other countries is indeed a tricky one. Refuse to play ball at all, and you’re banned completely. Will that really help the end users, the citizens who struggle to obtain information? Perhaps a little censorship is a small price to pay for allowing them even limited access to the information superhighway. At least, that seems to be the tack Twitter has embraced.

The company is not caving completely, however. They have been blocked in China for over two years, and are unlikely to be allowed back in as a result of this announcement. Why? Because that government doesn’t even want its people to know that content has been blocked; Twitter insists on giving them at least that courtesy. It is interesting to note that the company is working with Chilling Effects, an Internet freedom advocacy group, to draft its take-down notices.

You’d have to live in a cave to not realize that right now, in our famously freedom-loving country, we are in the middle of our own Internet censorship battle. Here, money is at the center of the fight. Specifically, corporations want to stop the sale of pirated goods. Corporations are people too, don’t you know?

These companies do have a valid concern, but I don’t have to tell you that the wildly unpopular SOPA and PIPA Acts propose enforcement through ham-fisted tactics that leave no room for due process. (If you didn’t know that, do some research. Right now. I’ll wait.)

The article notes that Twitter has been a crucial facilitator of political protest and revolutionary action around the world. The company also has a history of supporting transparency and free expression. However, it must do what it has to do if it wants to keep expanding. At the least, it must protect its employees from prosecution for breaking the rules in foreign lands. Yes, that would be important.

Cynthia Murrell, February 02, 2012

Android App Joins Censorship Fight

January 17th, 2012 | Posted by admin in News | Privacy | security - (0 Comments)

When are lawmakers going to learn that techies are a resourceful group that is no fan of Big Brother regulation? In “Android Barcode Scanner App Detects If a Product’s Maker Supports SOPA,” Forbes details the efforts of a group of students at the University of British Columbia to solidify opposition to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA).

According to the app makes it easy to identify SOPA-supporting companies.

No More SOPA, a free Android application … allows users to scan any product’s barcode and determine if it was made by a company that officially supports SOPA, or even a parent company or subsidiary of a SOPA supporter. The app … uses a public UPC database to find a product’s manufacturer then queries a remote server to compare the manufacturer with a list of 800 firms with lobbying ties to the bill.” “As a Senate hearing on SOPA looms later this month, hackers and engineers have been busy building tools to cripple or defeat the bill, which many see as imposing widespread censorship on the Internet as well as potentially holding back advances in security.

If corporate lobbyists thought they were going to be able to quietly slide this through, it looks like they’ve got another thing coming. This is an interesting test case that bears watching – to what extent mobile technology coupled with social media can impact the creation of public policy in the US.

Jim Daniels, January 17, 2012

Kroll Annual Forecast Predicts Trouble

December 27th, 2011 | Posted by admin in business process | mobility | Privacy | security - (0 Comments)

It seems mobile security is getting worse before it gets better. Business Insurance’s, “Mobile Technology Changes Making Cyber Security More Difficult: Kroll” reports on the results of Kroll Inc.’s annual security forecast. The upshot: businesses and organizations are having trouble keeping up. The article specifies:

“Discussing mobile technology security threats, Kroll said mobile technologies ‘are changing so rapidly that in some organizations the demand and pressure to deploy new technologies (e.g. tablet computers) will outstrip the organization’s existing capabilities to secure them. This unfortunate dynamic is no secret to thieves who are ready and waiting with highly targeted malware and attacks employing mobile applications.’”

Writer Judy Greenwald notes some other important points from the forecast. For example, corporate use of social media will bring small businesses under increased cyber-attack, and the growth of cloud services will bring its own risks. Also, cooperation between business and government will be crucial; other countries are expected to be more nimble than the US in their response. Furthermore, the forecast predicts that privacy concerns about geolocation tech will become more of an issue. Yes, I imagine so.

It’s true that mobile security is a big concern. Keep your social networking safe.

Cynthia Murrell, December 27, 2011