Social media and mobile have collided on a road marked “Private Drive.” This
week’s Path hubbub just brought a bit more
attention to it.
It’s become more and more obvious to me that the term “privacy” has changed
greatly from “the way we’re raised.” Realizing I may have already used my daily
allowance of quotation marks, I include them to make a point. These are relative
terms and phrases.
As a child of the 60’s and, perhaps more importantly, a teenager of the 70’s,
what I chose to share with my friends was influenced by how I could share with
my friends. “Secrets” were kept more easily because there were fewer ears
around to hear them. Now there are ears all around us…and they are always listening. Those ears are our social networks, apps, and mobile devices.
Facebook probably comes to mind first as the largest depository of regrettable
sharing. How many stories, videos, podcasts, and parent lectures have
been produced that address what you share and with whom you share it on
Facebook… and how to control it? I myself am responsible for many. In fact, it’s
become such an issue with college students that my academic friends speak
often of the end of the senior year ‘data-dump.’ That day when all of the seniors
realize that they need to get a job and that picture of them hugging the commode
after that “best party ever” will not help them.
This week’s flap over the mobile app Path and its feature of automatically
uploading your mobile contacts to help users find and connect with friends (not to
mention Apple’s policy on apps submitted) has really
only highlighted a rather pervasive attitude: Knowing who I know is really no big
deal! While Path and its CEO quickly found out that it is a big deal to many, in
actuality, information we may have considered “private” back in the day is not so
much anymore.
I can remember when I was carrying around my first cell…in a bag. When the
switch from analog to digital networks came along, it was a big deal that we now
had more secure connections. However, that lack of security didn’t deter millions
from using a cell phone in the least.
My point is this: while CIOs and IT folks continue to battle the leaking dike that
is the division between the world and your data, you must also consider and
address the attitude of those who must use it…your employees. Whether the
ability to ‘share,” or lack thereof, is hard-coded or you provide a clear opt–in or
warning, you must prompt users to think about what they are sharing. Depending
on their age, background, or level of common sense, they may think nothing of it.
In reality, the best privacy setting is not on the device or in the software. It’s in
you head!