Google+, Online Privacy, and a Street-Wise Public

Two articles struck me this week.  Oh they are not new, in the social media world they are ancient history (weeks old!).  But they caught my eye and have messages worth repeating.  Eric Convey, managing editor of the Boston Business Journal, wrote an article on his blog  BBJ The Bottom Line entitled Google+ vs. Facebook, a verdict.  The article compares Google+ and Facebook and the most interesting part of the article centered on the inherant flaw in Facebook’s success.

The second article was prompted by the first.  I started to wonder exactly why people broadcast their hidden secrets and most embarrassing moments online.  Why do people seem to think their privacy is protected in social media?  The term “social media” itself implies that the people are going to see it.

First though…on to Mr. Convey’s article.

Eric Convey’s article caught my eye with a great title.  I searched for a reportable article for a good 20 minutes, sorting through all the noise out there in the ‘world wide web’.  I saw the word “verdict” in the title and clicked before a second thought.

Fortunately for me as a curious reader, Mr. Convey held to an objective comparison of what Google+ is trying to do, compared with what Facebook has already done.  He reviews what has turned Facebook into the Mocrosoft of social media.  Convey reviewed how effectively Facebook has connected people, “in a controlled environment.”

He also discussed how such a success has turned into Facebook’s largest weakness.   “If lore is correct,” wrote Convey, “numerous careers have sputtered after postings meant for friends were seen by bosses. Who doesn’t have an embarrassing photo from a college party that no doubt would have drawn howls from friends who long forgot the soiree, but scorn in certain professional circles?”

Google+ now enters the fray with it’s own take on the issue of separating information with it’s emphasis on circles.  Circles allow people to partition their online identities in a way that is more similar to real-world interactions.  People can separate their contacts into circles of interest, thus separating social, family, and work updates and notifications.

So, Google+ capitalizes on Facebook’s inherent flaw (or success, however you look at it).  The major problem Google+ has right now lies in numbers.  Facebook only has hundreds of millions of more accounts and many years of experience more than Google+.  Google+ has a lot of catching up to do.

Convey suggested, pit against each other on an even playing field, Google+ has the upper hand.  In the evolution of social media happening right in front of our eyes however there is no such thing as an equal playing field.

Now, on the blog The Modern Archivist, Elle Byrum delves into the question of privacy in social media.  Her article, “The Perils of Social Media” highlights Isaiah Lester, who won a $10.6 million wrongful death lawsuit he initiated in the death of his wife.  Two years after the lawsuit, Mr. Lester posted compromising pictures of him wearing a shirt that said “I [heart] Hot Moms.”  This started a chain reaction (trying to delete the photos obviously did not help) and now Mr. Lester stands in a position where his court victory could be reversed.

There is no privacy online.  Entire careers are made in archiving traffic online.  The fairytale of online privacy must dissolve into “streetwise” social media behavior.

I spent two years in Los Angeles, Calif. working with the less fortunate.  Most of my time was spent in the “jungle” (it’s common name) of south central Los Angeles.  At first the scenery and culture were completely foreign to this sub-urbian Oregonian.  After a few months of pounding the pavement and surviving the hazards of a low income urban environment, a sixth-sense developed.

By the time I left Calif. I could tell what streets were safe, what were dangerous, and when it was time to leave.  You see, in the evening the city shifted and some safe zones during the sunshine turned to crime centers by moonlight.

It is the same with social media.  It is a requirement that we develop an online sense of what is safe, what is not, and when that changes.  Today online scams and cyber-bullying damage so much more than stealing lunch money did in my youth.

So, this weeks emphasis is simple.  Social media is not going anywhere.  With Google+ jumping in to take on Facebook, our future is embedded in social media.  Social media is social.  It is not private media.  It wasn’t designed to be so.  It will take a new kind of “streetsmart” to understand how to manage social media.

What an exciting time to live, eh?