We live our lives in public – at least online. With every move made online indexed and aggregated into individual customer profiles, there is nowhere to hide on the World Wide Web.

Google indexes everything, collecting information from our computers, mobile devices, e-mail and now even through television. Google searches still account for the majority of Google revenue, but that will change over time.

Although commonly known as a leading collector of personal data, Facebook trails behind Google with approximately 25 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) posted on the site each month.

With so much information floating in cyberspace, there are even emerging services that aggregate information specifically from social media platforms like Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, Pandora and LinkedIn. Collecting the personal information of others has become a business, making everything you put on the web public domain.

Today, Steve Kraske sits down with “Tech-sperts” Dustin Jacobsen, director of Social Media and Technology at Barkley, and Justin Parlette, support systems administrator at University of Missouri – Kansas City. We’ll review the issue of online privacy.

Jacobsen and Parlette will also discuss the latest technology gadgets and trends, including Google TV, the Sprint HTC EVO, the soundproof stadium built for the World Cup and more.

A few highlights:

• What information exists online? What information is shared and why?
• Is all information online public? If it’s online, it’s public.
• It’s not just information we share, but information others share about us
• The power of aggregations – Netflix and Facebook mashups
• Balancing privacy and costs – ad-based social networks
• Employers are looking at your public information
• Public is the new private – Zuckerberg, Facebook
• Where do we draw the line with information we share?
• Where do people find the time? It’s a shift of communication methods – the new water cooler
• The growth of mobile has enabled engagement on the go
• Google TV sounds interesting, but we won’t learn much more until it’s released this fall
• Will Facebook, Hulu & others offer paid versions that are ad-free?
• Facebook & others offer several advertising options, including the ability to target by demographics
• iPhone 4 vs. Sprint HTC EVO – do we need 4G?
• Battery life for mobile devices still needs to improve

Download the full audio from the broadcast

One of the articles that I wanted to call out was that with all of the complaints about Facebook, they continue to grow: Privacy, Schmivacy: Facebook Is Attracting Near-Record Numbers Of New Visitors

Reclaim Privacy was a site that was referenced by Justin that can help you understand privacy settings and concerns.

If you haven’t already, be sure to follow KCUR Up to Date on Twitter and check out the KCUR site for a list of upcoming shows and links to subscribe to the podcast.

Technorati Tags: mobile, KCUR, Google TV, iPhone, Facebook, privacy

How often are you asked for ID and does anyone even check the signature? A few years I randomly signed a few credit card receipts with a signature that didn’t match just to see if anyone was paying attention. For the most part, no one ever checked, besides that it was signed with something, even if it was a made up name.

One of the comments (which there are many, over 150 at the moment):
Try this next time you’re asked for ID and report your experience. 8 times out of 10 you’ll probably not be able to complete the transaction. And if you think VISA or MC is going to cut off, e.g. Target because of a violation, you’re high.

Another:
The majority of the time cc transactions are going to be non-fraudulent, but having stores check ID’s against a cc helps in that small percentage where both the store and some poor guy are going to get ripped off.

I understand why stores ask for it, since they will usually have to cover any charge backs, and I also have friends who have written on their credit cards “Ask for ID” like a few commenters suggested. Some of my friends have had identity theft problems and that can be a huge headache to sort out everything.

Earlier this year we started paying cash for common purchases like groceries, dining, etc, but still use our credit card for things like gas (for the pay at the pump convenience), online or major purchases and when we don’t have cash with us.

For the next month or so I’m going to see how many people really check the signature and if they ask for ID, I’m going to see what happens if I decline to show it. Let me know if you try this experiment and your results.

Technorati Tags: credit card, security, identity theft, fraud, privacy, Visa, Consumerist

Let me start off by saying I am an Iowa State University and Baker University alumni and have great respect for both institutions. Most of my banking is managed by Bank of America and I don’t have any intention on moving banks, at least in the short term.

The issue of selling consumer data has been front and center this past week in several of the Iowa Newspapers and online. The issue is that several alumni associations have provided ‘Non-public’ data to banks as part of the partnership program, including e-mail addresses.

While I don’t think there is a smoking gun and some big scandal, since most of this information is exchanged between banks and consumers during the process of setting up a normal credit card with any provider, it is more the lack of transparency that this information is being shared and that the alumni associations are profiting from the sale of this information.

Articles:
Alumni Associations And Public Universities Profit By Selling Student Data To Bank Of America

LETTER: Alumni Association dishonors students by selling personal info

University data deals shroud money

Thanks Kyle for the heads up. Let me know if you hear anything about your ISU card.

Technorati Tags: ISU, alumni, association, university, privacy, data, student, credit card