Before You Network – Five steps to protect your information

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Thanks for all the positive responses so far! I’m so glad others like the idea also.

Yesterday I started writing two posts. One about using StumbleUpon, which I put aside after realizing that it will likely be the most difficult 10 minute review I write, mainly because I’ve used it so much that it’s almost second nature now. I’ll be helping my Mom really get started on there soon though (she finally put up an avatar yesterday) so I’ll use her questions as we go along to write that one.

Then I started working on one about Twitter, which I’ll try to finish tomorrow. That one got put aside because a twitter storm started when Robert Scoble aka Scobalizer started talking about Facebook banning him.

So why how does an issue between Facebook and a known web personality matter to you?

It matters because Scoble had/has (he was let back on with a request that he not repeat the actions that got him banned) 5000 “friends” on Facebook. And because he ran a bot that took information about those 5000 friends and transferred it to another website, something that Facebook specifically prohibits in their Terms of Service (TOS).

I’ve mentioned before to be careful about any information that you put on the web. Regardless of how safe you think Facebook or any other social site is, remember that all of these companies are going to be trying to make money in some way. Facebook in particular, not only shares the information you list with your friends and networks who may turn around and use the information however they want (as long as they don’t use bots to gather it) but also claims full use of any thing you put on the site, including your personal information, anything you’ve written, posted to someone else, etc.

If you don’t mind legalese, here is the part of Facebook’s TOS that really scares me:

By posting User Content to any part of the Site, you automatically grant, and you represent and warrant that you have the right to grant, to the Company an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to use, copy, publicly perform, publicly display, reformat, translate, excerpt (in whole or in part) and distribute such User Content for any purpose, commercial, advertising, or otherwise, on or in connection with the Site or the promotion thereof, to prepare derivative works of, or incorporate into other works, such User Content, and to grant and authorize sublicenses of the foregoing.

Which means that not only can they use my information in anyway that they want to, without having to notify me or pay me anything, they can also sell the use of my information to anyone else they want to, and that information can be used in nearly any way that they want. In other words, what Robert Scoble did didn’t get him in trouble because Facebook was trying to protect your information, it got him in trouble because he didn’t work with Facebook to get the information. If Fb had wanted to, they could have sold, given, donated, etc. information on everyone on Facebook to him or the company he was testing the bot for .

This isn’t just about Facebook though. It’s reasonable to expect that most social networking sites will have a TOS that is similar in some way to Facebook’s.

So, with companies claiming full use of your information, what can you do to protect yourself?

1) Look for a note that your information will never be used for any other purpose. This is usually posted on shopping sites, which, along with the fact that you enter your personal information onto a secure (https) page, lets you know that they care about protecting your identity and keeping you as a client.

2) Outside of legitimate shopping sites, limit the information you share. Remember, this is the information age, and information has value. Companies and others who are even less scrupulous use any of your information they can get their hands on. If you must give your real name, then try just giving a first name and not the last. If, like Fb, you’re asked to give your full name, don’t put your address with it, or your phone number. You’re not keeping the information from friends, you’re keeping yourself safe.

3) Don’t give your birthday. This one is important! An easy way to help protect against identity thief is to guard your birthday like you do your social security number. Now, almost any site you register on is going to ask you for your birthdate, but remember, their main reason for asking is to make sure that you’re over a certain age. Yes, it doesn’t work well. Children already know to protect their birthyear, and say that they are older than they really are. As an adult, it doesn’t matter if you claim to be older or younger, as long as you’re over the age limit for the site. But, even if you want to list your real birthday, please change your birth year to something else.

4) Use a nickname for your user name whenever possible. Most sites aren’t like Facebook, which may ban you if you try to join using only a nickname. Any time it’s possible, use a nickname as your primary name on a site, even if you also give your real name. For most sites, your username is the hardest thing to change, so make sure it’s something that you don’t mind anyone seeing. Use your real name only when you feel like it’s secure…and if you do use it, please don’t also give your location! All it takes is a bit of research online or possibly even a telephone book to find someone if you have their name and city. Don’t believe me? If you’re in the US, try looking for your friends (or if you’re brave, for yourself) on Zabasearch sometime.

5) If you leave a networking site, remove your personal information. Don’t trust the site to remove your important information, do it yourself. Even if you request that a company close down your membership, most will leave your information up for a while, to give you time to change your mind about leaving. Any information that you want to protect should be removed as soon as you decide that you no longer want to use that site. Don’t depend on the company to quickly give up your data.