Backfiring on Social Networking Sites

I located the scholarly article, Privacy concerns and identity in online social networks
by Hanna Krasnov. I found this article by searching "identity, safety and privacy" through their scholarly article search. I was able to find that it was a scholarly article because it was listed on Google database and it was also peer reviewed. It also included a detailed list of references following the article.

In this article they point out the basically what the title exhibits, the privacy among social network sites. The article explains that because of many feelings of betrayal by their users that many users will start to diminish their usage among the sites. The trend can hold a negative impact among the social networks. They explain that many of the users may start to typically withhold the information they put on the internet etc. Krasnov also explains how the networking sites may respond to this by taking away the concerns that many users may have.  The article also includes several pictorial representations of their findings to explain their views.

Overall, the article does a good job conveying a rhetorical message. They explain why they are sharing the ideas they have and support them with supplemental information that can help the reader understand where they are coming from. The author also explains how they feel that social networking sites are indeed betraying their users and how this will have a negative impact on the sites themselves.

Don't Play Victim!

Ever use a credit card to make online purchases? Opened an email link that when in fact you had no idea who the sender was? Have you ever entered a password in an insecure part of the internet? If you answered yes to any of these questions you are putting yourself at an enormous risk for many online scams, hackers and phishers.


Phishing is when you receive an email that actually looks legit, and is usually from a well known company, and will usually say something like "your password has expired--click here to update it", these emails are very clever and will actually use the companies logo. They actually look very authentic, and the recipient should probably NEVER open links from these senders even if it looks real. The sites that are linked to in these email are also usually clones of the real sites, they try to trick you into entering your user name and password (as you think your at the real site), once entered they now have your log in details and can use your account as they please, if its an ebay account they can bid for things in your name, if its paypal, its certain that in the near future you will be receiving an unexpected bill.

You should never be asked for your password. Respectable websites and many businesses never should ask for your password. Many respect the fact the rule of a password and its intention for only YOU to know it. 
It does not just stop at passwords but includes other personal information such as credit card numbers, bank account info and PIN numbers.

If you have even been scammed into giving out account details, passwords or other personal information the first thing you should do is contact your banks so that they can freeze your account, then contact the website who owns the accounts that you just got hijacked. Then you should probably scan your computer for any viruses and change all the passwords you have.

Its better to be safe then sorry, these people need to be stopped! Make sure you aren't a victim to these horrendous acts.

Wanna Sext?

  Sexting is a growing problem that is growing across America today. Many young adults are sending nude pictures or texts that suggest sexual activity to each other or in some cases to a much older recipient.

What baffles me is, if the person is sending this picture to someone who they truly love and care about, who are we to judge them. I do not under any circumstance think that sending a naked picture between a teacher or a student in any way is okay. What I am trying to say is, if a 16 year old sends a picture to her boyfriend that just turned 18 but had the picture on his phone when he was 17 and the girl had no problem doing so is it okay for the boyfriend to get charged with child pornography? This is where I seem to disagree. I don't believe the boyfriend should get into any trouble what so ever especially if his girlfriend wants him to see this picture of herself. I believe a cell phone is "personal property" and we do practice freedom of speech in America so who are we to judge what is being sent from cell phone to cell phone, with the understanding that it is being used for good intentions, and is not illegal.

I feel that the problem is only serious if the messengers are truly breaking the law and the pictures are being sent unlawfully, but if two individuals are in love like I said who are we to judge their relationship? This is something that others may not agree with and like I said I am not trying to say sexting is in anyway okay, I just want us to be able to see the different factors that play into sequence rather then just jumping to different conclusions.

Ban Smoking in Public!

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/02/22/earlyshow/contributors/tracysmith/main675552.shtml

I found this video on CBS News, where the early show debates the a heated topic of banning cigarette smoking in public areas. The anchor responds to both smokers and non-smokers reactions toward the cigarette bans across the nation.

The major claim from the video is if banning smoking in public places fair or not fair. As many smokers believe that as citizens of the United States, smoking should not be a legislative issue. The support that this claim has is from the smokers who have formed activist groups, and the non-smokers have also formed groups and have view the smokers as polluting their population with "unwanted toxins".  This evidence is found in the video as the groups are openly discussing their feelings. The viewer is able to hear each sides arguments as to why they feel the way they do of the issue. It is up to the viewer to be able to side with whoever they feel is correct because each provide reasoning as to why they feel the way they do.

Overall, the video is very successful in showing each sides viewpoints of the topic. It is ultimately up to the viewer to hear each parties argument and side with whomever they decide to side with. The video presents an argument and supports it with different view points, and substantial amounts of evidence throughout the video.

Are You Sure You Want To Post That?

For this blog post I chose Willhillv and Jackies's blogs to compare in a rhetorical analysis perspective. They each address my subject matter, identitiy, safety  and privacy.Willhillv talks about the importance of friends and safety on the internet, and Jackie chooses to write about the facebook feature "check-in".

Pathos and Ethos were each used througout the postings but each were used in different ways. Will was a more upbeat and engaging while Jackie was more serious in addressing her issue. Will talks about facebook which is a popular site that most people know and recoginze. He uses his first contact with the site as an example, and how safety is an issue and how people who use the social networking site should be very careful in what they say and include.
Jackie talks about the "check-in" feature and how it does not keep the users safety and privacy in mind. She explains how the feature is very exposing, and allows other users to see exactly where the person is and how many miles it is away from their actual location. She addresses how this is unsafe and how it can be unwanted.

Will tries to make the reader aware of safety among social networking sites through the usage his own examples as a way to express himself. By doing so, it helps the reader relate to him so they too can make a way to feel safe and secure among social networking sites.

All in all, each of the blogs connect with another. They both stick to using one social media as an example and how it safety and privacy play an important role on many internet users lives. The readers of both of their blogs are also able to  convey the message each are trying to portray through their tones.

 

 

Where is the Line of Cyberbullying Drawn?

Cyber bullying is a major problem among several young adults today, but as they fall victim could they think that maybe what they are sharing on the web has impact on why they are being bullied?

            Many face book users will post pictures of themselves doing things that are frowned upon or bring up controversial messages that many seem to disagree with.  Many other users see this as a way of  “seeking attention” and in some ways I would have to agree. Why would you post a picture of yourself with little clothing on or say something about a religion without expecting negative feedback. I went to school with a girl who had a reputation of putting pictures of herself with little clothing on and when she went to school, people who say mean things about her or things she wouldn’t like to hear to her face. These things made her feel upset and feel as if she was being bullied. I feel as if some people are using social networking sites for the wrong reasons, and when others speak how they feel on a certain post it’s all of a sudden called “bullying”.

            Bullying is defined, as is an act of repeated aggressive behavior in order to intentionally hurt another person, physically or mentally. This is a definition that me must think long and hard about. When an innocent person posts a picture of her and a friend at a church function and another Facebook user repeatedly demeans this girl and makes her feel as if she is unfaithful to her church, is this called bullying? Or is the contentious girl falling victim to bulling? These in my eyes are both forms of bullying but when is a “bully” not considered one? This is something I will look at in a later blog.

Protecting or Sharing, Are You Aware Of Your Settings?

Everyone exposes their information and different views on ideas through their postings on the internet. Some of the popular sites where these land on are the ever so popular Facebook and Twitter.

Source: Cortright, D 2009.

Many of Facebook and Twitter users are not fully aware of their privacy settings. Many users are sharing information every second, through pictures, tweets, postings, and status updates. Through a social media research at Microsoft Research New England, Danah Boyn, shows that many people only feel like their privacy has been violated when they have lost all control of their personal information.

Source:Flickr, 2008.

According to Facebook TRUSTe (2010), Facebook creates privacy policies and guidelines to help protect many users information.I personally don't think the privacy given to the users is very sufficient. This definitely doesn't do justice because although many feel this same way, they continue to use the social networking sites. Facebook seems to keep making adjustments to help to improve and deal with the privacy issues.

source: Flickr, 2011

These improvements allow users to either allow their information to be viewed by others or in a more secure aspect and only visible to a select group. Facebook predicted that the number of users would decrease, but it seems as if it was otherwise, numbers increased. I believe that the issue of privacy comes from the users lack of knowledge of the people who use these networking sites. Some of them do not even notice or care about the privacy issues. Many of the Facebook users are publishing their comments, ideas, and posting pictures without checking to see if they have establish the privacy settings that they desire. When users found out their information can be found anywhere on the internet, they started to worry. So, I think, we cannot just get upset with these social networking sites if we have never done anything to help make our sites more secure. All in all, the privacy policy is already provided. It is now dependent on the users whether want to keep their information protected or shared.


Refrences:

Cortright, D 2009, Cleansing my Facebook Profile, http://www.kpao.org/blog/2009/12/09/facebook-privacy.jpg

Facebook TRUSTe (2010), Facebook’s Privacy Policy, viewed 15 June 2010, http://www.facebook.com/policy.php.

Flicker 2007, Facebook Privacy Setting, http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1045/795842899_5e126db289.jpg

Franzese, Greg 2009, Facebook Privacy, viewed 16 June 2010, http://www.reputationdefenderblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/facebook-privacy.jpg