One More Warning How Everything You Do on the Web Can Be Found

I've written about this topic numerous times – you must assume that everything you do on the web – private groups you join, DMs (private messages) you send on Twitter, anything – can actually be found by someone somewhere.

And once again we have a major news article to remind us of this.

The October 12th front-page Wall Street Journal article "'Scrapers' Dig Deep for Data on Web" by Julia Angwin and Steve Stecklow explains this growing phenomenon:

The market for personal data about Internet users is booming, and in the vanguard is the practice of "scraping." Firms offer to harvest online conversations and collect personal details from social-networking sites, résumé sites and online forums where people might discuss their lives …


The Wall Street Journal's examination of scraping—a trade that involves personal information as well as many other types of data—is part of the newspaper's investigation into the business of tracking people's activities online and selling details about their behavior and personal interests.

Perhaps more unsettling for some people is this blog post whose link I found in the Twitter stream alongside the Journal scrapers article:

"'Deleted' Facebook photos still not deleted" by Jacqui Cheng at arstechnica.com



Read the Journal article and the artechnica.com article now – and then seriously reconsider what you are sharing online. You do NOT want any online mud sticking to your professional reputation.

© 2010 Miller Mosaic, LLC

Phyllis Zimbler Miller (@ZimblerMiller on Twitter) and her business partner Yael K. Miller (@MillerMosaicLLC on Twitter) are committed to taking the mystery out of social media so that individuals and companies can utilize the power of social media to attract more business. See their Quick Start Social Media Track.