ZOMG! My data!

When Facebook changed their TOS (Terms Of Service) this month, the tech community was up in arms. The new TOS states that even after you delete your account from Facebook, the data that you inputted into the service is retained on their end. Why? What are they going to do with the data? And isn't that data yours!?

Well, I'm not so sure. Now, before I move on, let me just state that Mark Zuckerberg has always been present and accessible to Facebook's users. When the redesign came out, it wasn't before sharing the changes and ideas with users months ahead of time, and taking user feedback. Granted, most folks weren't ecstatic about the changes, and Zuck didn't bend to every whim of the users, but Facebook was available and listening with open ears and minds.

Yesterday, Zuck came out and commented on the changed to the TOS. He made a very simple, clear, comparison:

"When a person shares something like a message with a friend, two copies of that information are created—one in the person's sent messages box and the other in their friend's inbox. Even if the person deactivates their account, their friend still has a copy of that message. We think this is the right way for Facebook to work, and it is consistent with how other services like email work. One of the reasons we updated our terms was to make this more clear."

I get it. This makes sense to me. So, with that in mind, why would you put something on Facebook that you're worried about getting out? It's on the fricking internet. That is a bad idea. I don't have anything on Facebook that I would be worried about being seen or having multiple copies that exist elsewhere of. But alright, that's not what you're worried about, is it? No, I get that too, though.

You don't want Facebook to have all your personal information even after you think you've 'deleted' it because you don't want them to give it away. For example, your email address. You don't want Facebook to turn around and sell your email address along with thousands of others to some spam company for lots of cash. Okay, I get that. But, to be honest, I'm not that worried. Facebook is huge. Do they need to turn to peddling personal information? I don't think so. They've grown exponentially in the past two years, and they're still going.

All in all, yes. I'm with you. It's weird. If I delete my account, I feel like it should be deleted. But, like Zuck said. When you delete a sent email from your computer, does it delete the receive one from who you sent it to? I think at the end of the day, the best thing you can do is simply not put anything you don't want given to anyone else in a public forum. If you don't want people to have your cell phone number, don't give it out. If you don't want people to have your email address, don't give it out.

"But Facebook requires and email address to sign up!", you say.

Fine. So, do as I do. Create a separate email address devoted specifically to signing up for things. That way, none of your personal conversations are at risk. Don't be stupid. Essentially, what it boils down to is the very same notion that applies to all of social media. Transparency. Are you on Twitter? If you are, that's opt in. You don't have to tweet every waking moment. You don't have to tweet that you just lost your job, or that your girlfriend just broke up with you. You choose what information you give away. Be smart.

if you're not happy with Facebook, don't use it. But the reality of it is, Facebook is in the position already to be able to make changes like this. Remember what happened with beacon? People went ballistic. People created groups (on Facebook) to organize against these practices. But you know what? That was a year ago, and since then Facebook has reached 175 million active users.* Fine, let them know what you think, but when it comes down to it, it's your choice wether or not you want to give them your information/data/soul, what have you. In fact, it's up to you is you even use the site at all which I, for the record, am happily going to continue to use.

*See references

How To: Deal With A Twitter Impostor

I recently had the unique opportunity to deal with an impostor on Twitter. Brand-jacking is serious. There's a fine line between good fun and libel. For example, when Dan Lyons from Forbes was still writing his 'blog', 'Fake Steve Jobs', that was all in good fun. The name, after all, says it all. He's not really Steve Jobs. Or even on Twitter, @michael_bay is clearly a parody of the Hollywood director. (BOOM!!!) But, when does it stop being a parody and start being impersonation? Some would argue that if you're being parodied, then you've made it (to some extent). That is a statement I'd agree with. Crossing the line, however, into impersonating is something different altogether.

Where's the distinction? Well, a parody will (or should) never refute a claim that they are not actually the person they are parodying. For example, during the time which I was being impersonated, I tweeted regularly that the person behind the offending Twitter handle was, indeed, not me. Once the offender began responding to my tweets and to the tweets of my followers arguing that he was, in fact, me; the line was crossed. The account was no longer being used to parody me, but it was claiming to actually be me. Not to mention that they were spam-tastic. They constantly fed nonsense tweets to #TCOT which soon began infuriating members.

So, be thoughtful in your actions, but if you are think that you are being impersonated, there are a few things you can do:

1. Do not, under any circumstance, engage the impostor.

Outside of referencing the offender in tweets or other announcements so that your followers and readers don't think it's you, do not attempt to engage the offender. More often than not, practices we learned in grade school and high school still apply to our lives, especially in this medium. Chances are, they're just trying to get a rise out of you. Don't let them.

2. Stand your ground.

Just because you shouldn't engage the impostor doesn't mean you shouldn't stand your ground. Send tweets, write blog posts, write emails, whatever. Tell all your family, friends, followers, readers and otherwise loyal people that the impostor is not you. Brand-jacking can severely damage a personal brand. That's bad. You don't want that. You want your loyalists to stay that way. You don't want them thinking you've become some spammy self-centered troll. Not to mention, that repeated announcements will help your case when trying to prove that the impersonator is not you.

3. Give them enough rope to hang themselves with.

And give them time, too. If you're standing your ground, and you've got nothing to hide, let the offender go off as much as they like. Give them the time and space to fall flat on their face. If you can afford to, wait until other parties get involved and start going after him or her on your behalf. Most importantly, wait until they slip up. Sooner or later, they're bound to do something (like claiming to be you in a public forum) that will be the linchpin in getting rid of them.

4. Do your research.

Research your medium's Terms of Service, and your state's laws. If the offender's actions cause harm to your business or brand, harass, or otherwise cause significant trauma to you or your loved ones, you may be able to take legal action. Of course, that is an extreme case. What's more likely is that the offender is violating one or more of the Terms of Service of the medium they are using. Twitter, for example, protects its users from impersonators.

5. Contact the proper parties.

Reach out in any way you can to try and do two things: a) Discover the offender's identity. If you can diffuse the situation without escalating, and through conversation, do so. If not, move on to b. b) Get in touch with someone who might be able to help you. For example, contacting Twitter's support team proved incredibly efficient. Apparently, they have a no-tolerance policy for impostors. You can also report the user as a spammer. On Twitter, you can send a DM to the Spam Patrol Team at Twitter HQ at @spam containing the offender's handle.

6. When the time is right, pull the trigger.

Finally, when the pieces are all in place, you can reach out to the offender, and give him or her a final warning. Make sure you are clear, concise, and professional. The last thing you want is for your serious warning to come off as a joke or as a childish plea. For example, I issued a cease and desist through a reply on Twitter.

If you've done everything right and covered all your bases, you should be happily surprised to wake up one morning and find that the offender has been suspended, and hopefully, they won't bother you again.

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I do have to take a second to thank those who were there to help out and spread the word through Twitter about what was going on. Of course, my family (@dburstiner @aixiab) was supportive, but what I did not expect was for some of the users on #TCOT to come to my aide. @dandraney, @timaay, @vannschaffner, and @tim_knight were helpful in retweeting and getting the word out. And of course, thanks to Twitter for addressing the situation so quickly. Hopefully this helps anyone who may need this kind of information, which I hope no one will!