Social networks, 2010 vn

As someone whose last book used the original,wonderful xkcd cartoon as its cover, it seems only right to bring you the updated version! (NB NOT by Randall Munroe, though glad to see they acknowledge him.)

ps but shouldn't that be "sunken island of Google Buzz?"

Lawyers: Talk Don't Stalk!

Interesting little bit of accreting web 2.0 law - the Philadelphia Bar Association, from March 2009, has issued an "ethics" opinion on whether it is legitinate to find out about what potential witnesses say on sites like Facebook by getting "sockpuppets" to Friend them. No, said the distinguished Bar, unsuprisingly - you should Friend them yourself and ask them to speak. Duplicity is not the way to acquire evidence.

Obvious but good to hear it said, in the endlessly scammed world of the anonymous/pseudonymous social networking scene.

Interesting quote at the end of the article:

"Facebook and MySpace profiles are different from public spaces where one can freely film and record others, the opinion says, because an invitation is required to access them, notes a Social Media Today post on the opinion."

Hmm. So Facebook users are a bit like vampires then? That figures.. (I'm sorry, vampire lawyers are on my mind bexause they're what I think of everytime someone mentions Wolfram Alpha, which is about every 10.2 seconds at the moment. is no one else thusly afflicted? Clue: think of Angels.)

As a light relief intro to the Bank Holiday Weekend, which Pangloss is really, really looking forward`to spending in sunny Sunningdale, a cartoon courtesy of Matthias Klang, for all my PhD readers out there :).

Norms for Social Networking :)

Rhodri Marsden of the Independent's CyberClinic has posted his own rather amusing take on Debrett's advice on the etiquette of social networking and where they get it wrong. I agree almost wholly, especially re not mixing business and pleasure (she says, looking ruefully at her Facebook profile which mixes the likes of Lessig and Zittrain with lots of skiffy weirdos and her 21 year old niece currently training to join the Israeli army. Hmmm... )

Facebook

Just to document the press's continuing fascination that people are indeed monitoring Facebook, Bebo etc, and that despite this, other people are still stupid enough to leave confidential information there, this piece from the Indy ...

"Just ask the 27 workers at the Automobile Club of Southern California fired for messages about colleagues on their MySpace sites; the Florida sheriff's deputy whose MySpace page revealed his heavy drinking and fascination with female breasts – and swiftly found himself handing in his badge; the Argos worker in Wokingham fired for saying on Facebook that working at the firm was "shit"; the Las Vegas teacher at a Catholic school fired after he declared himself gay on his MySpace page; the staff of an Ottawa grocery chain fired for their "negative comments" on Facebook; the 19 Northampton police officers investigated for Facebook comments; and Kevin Colvin, an intern at Anglo Irish Bank, who told his employers he had a family emergency, but whose Facebook page revealed he had, in reality, been cavorting in drag at a Hallowe'en party."

However the piece does have a new(ish) point, that worries about social network sites may shift from the obvious paedophiles, stalkers and ID thieves t more "civil" observers:

"That something as ubiquitous as social network sites (they have 13.7 million UK users) are exploited by paedophiles and other serious criminals is not surprising. Happily, the numbers affected are small. But the use of personal page content in civil disputes, divorces, employment and legal actions will affect far more of the millions now innocently sharing their thoughts and intimate moments with the online world. "

Pangloss is, as usual, almost finished an article on all this :) Send donations of spare time to allow her to complete it!!

Ps while we're at it, two interesting recent comments on the ongoing facebook/SCrabulous affair - Jonathan Zittrain here and the irrepressible Daithi Mac Sithigh here.