Following my little rant about online privacy yesterday I came across this great little Q&A article with Chris Kelly, Chief Privacy Officer of Facebook.
Facebook has faced a lot of criticism lately, particularly in the tabloid press and on mind numbing TV shows like GMTV who, in my opinion dedicate a lot of their energy into promoting a ‘culture of fear’; a society obsessed with ‘hoodies’, ‘ASBOs’, ‘paedophile rings’, ‘data theft’, etc. I’m not saying that these issues aren’t important, but some stories are hyped up by irresponsible journalists pursuing unrealistic circulation targets. But I digress…
I’ve always felt that social networking sites, such as Facebook get a bit of a raw deal in the press. Okay, so they screwed up with Beacon, but they were quick to recognise this, putting their hands up and admitting it was a mistake. Social networking on this scale is a new media concept. And we’re all learning; users and social network service providers. We’ve got to take a share of the responsibility for the privacy of ourselves and our kids online. I think Chris sums it up:
“Kids have to be educated to recognise inappropriate approaches and advances and how to report them. Parents need to be aware of what their kids are doing online and how available or not available their information is”.
Facebook still has a huge responsibility to protect the privacy of users but it’s a two way street. Let’s stop being fearful of ‘what could happen’. Be proactive, understand the tool, protect yourself!
I’ve said it before in a previous post; education, education, education.
The Library of Digress 
Obviously, libraries are a good place for people to tap into resources like social networking sites (SNS) and a chance for authorities to use the skills of our librarians and library assistants to pass on the correct message regarding privacy issues. To achieve this we need to implement a national standard level of staff training which can ensure library staff are confident in using web 2.0 technology themselves.
I find it amazing that many libraries in the UK actually block social network sites from their libraries and so censor access to the internet. Should we only encourage people to utilise computers and the programs that we like? Should libraries not be whole heartedly against censorship and embrace education? I believe the censorship of these sites is not due to the content therein but a lack of understanding from the service itself as SNS can provide many great tools within a community including tackling loneliness; building a sense of community and communicating easily and cost effectively with users in an unobtrusive way through a medium they are comfortable with.
With all the media jumping on the SNS bandwagon should it not be the place of the government to start the process of education too. Remember the 70’s and campaigns such as “The Green Cross Code” and “Stranger, Danger”, why are the Government not moving with the times and making much more high profile attempts to bring this issue to the front of the minds of users, educators and parents?
Great point Anthony! Why haven’t the government adopted a mass media approach to educating the public about the appropriate use of social networking websites?
Let’s start a campaign under the headline “Be proactive, understand the tool, protect yourself!”.
Like you say, we could create some sort of animated character as a spokesperson, just like they did in the 70s!! There’s even potential for merchandising; bumper stickers, pens, badges, USB drives…it’ll have mass appeal, and heck, it might just work! 🙂