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Earlier this week, I mentioned how important it is to be aware of whether or not you're posting your location on Twitter, and how to adjust your settings. Well, this is also important on other social networks like Facebook, and an increasingly popular one called Foursquare.
I've written about Foursquare here on WebRev before, mostly making fun of the concept. Now that I'm seeing more and more of my (adult) friends posting their locations on their status updates, I'm beginning to have some real concerns about the security and privacy issues with this technology. Foursquare has indicated that it has over 10M users already (and is celebrating by making it's mobile app look more like Google Search), and that's one of the smaller networks that offers location services. The draw is the possibility of being offered a discount of some sort to whatever restaurant, theater, hotel or other business you are visiting. Sure - everyone likes discounts and freebies, but seriously - do you think businesses are highly motivated to give you a discount after you are already in their doors?! Of course not. The discounts will be minimal. What the businesses want is your data, and reviews, and the free publicity on the social networks.
That would be OK, I guess, but the businesses you are frequenting aren't the only ones who want the data you are freely providing for all the world to see. The social networks are logging that information so they can do a more accurate job of spamming you advertising to you - as do they third party advertisers on these sites. Criminals want the information so they know when your family is not home, and if you have children, the worst kind of predators want this type of information on families such as yours so they can keep better tabs on your kids, what they like, who their friends are and when they are most vulnerable.
For the same reason that you don't leave information about your exact plans to be away from home on your answering machine (oh, please tell me you don't do that!), you really should not be broadcasting your whereabouts over the interwebs. If you're an adult, your friends (especially if I'm one of them) are likely to think you're silly. If you're a young person, this habit could be dangerous.
For more information, see PleaseRobMe.com (Raising awareness about over-sharing)
Jennifer Pointer (e-mail) is in Tulsa, OK. She promotes a simple, a low-tech approach to effective online profile management, search engine optimization and social networking.
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