SceneTap and the perils of 'anonymous' data gathering
A man walks into the bar...
That's the start of countless jokes, but it's not a joke for SceneTap. For the Chicago-based startup, a man walking into a bar is just another event that can be tracked and analyzed.
Thus far, SceneTap has tracked 8.5m such events at more than 400 bars and nightclubs using cameras that allow it to determine how crowded a bar is, the approximate ages of patrons and male-to-female ratios.
The real reason Facebook is taking on nosy employers
If you're hunting for a job today, your next interview might just end with an awkward question, "Can we have your Facebook password?"
In an effort to get as much information as they can, a growing number of private and public employers are asking job applicants to give them access to their Facebook accounts. There have also been reports of universities asking prospective applicants for the same.
Use Facebook? Expect to see more ads, and more annoying ads
Facebook's upcoming IPO will likely go down as the richest technology IPO ever - but that doesn't mean that the company's continued success is guaranteed.
In fact, the world's largest social network may miss its Q1 revenue target.
Do Not Track gains support, but will it really work?
Today, the administration of US President Barack Obama announced a blueprint for a "Privacy Bill of Rights."
The goal: "improve consumers’ privacy protections" and "give users more control over how their personal information is used on the Internet", all the while maintaining the internet's status as an "engine for innovation and economic growth."
To achieve that goal, the president has enlisted the help of some of the internet's biggest names, including Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and AOL.
The Path to success is not paved with apologies
Recently, mobile startup Path was caught 'stealing' its users' address books without their permission. Not surprisingly, this created a firestorm in the tech blogosphere.
In response, Path CEO Dave Morin, a former Facebook employee, issued an apology.
Do consumers need "data lockers" for their personal information?
Every day, copious amounts of information about individuals is created and exchanged in some fashion on the internet. Much of the time, the creation of that information is voluntary, and the exchange of that information helps support a universe of services that many consumers couldn't do without.
The volume of personal information out there and the ease with which it can be shared, often opaquely, has raised privacy concerns that could be the biggest stumbling block for the evolution of the web.
So what's the solution?
Don Tapscott on privacy and the new web
As most of us are aware, we are in a huge age of change. The technology genie is now out of the bottle and it is changing the way the next generation is interacting and shaping our world.
Don Tapscott, author of Macrowikinomics, opened Social Media Week in New York with his thoughts on emerging trends. The biggest takeaway? We need a new set of institutions that fit a digital age. The future as Tapscott sees it, is not to be predicted. It’s to be achieved.
Path caught storing users' unencrypted data
Today developer Arun Thampi discovered his entire address book including full names, emails and phone numbers was being collected by the new social app, Path.
In trying to make things easy for users, Path uploads your address book to their servers so you can easily connect to your friends and family on its network.
The problem is Path doesn't tell you it's going to do it.
Facebook finally files for IPO
The wait is over. Last night Facebook filed its much-anticipated S-1 paving the way for an IPO which could happen in as little as a few weeks.
The company, which was founded in a Harvard dorm room in 2004, is looking to raise $5bn - though there is still the possibility that it could raise as much as $10bn if it sees strong demand.
O2 shares customer phone numbers with websites
Think your phone number is safe when browsing the web via your mobile? It seems like a logical assumption to make.
But that might not be quite true if you're an O2 customer.
