It’s fun being part of a social network. It can be great to participate in movie polls, in music quizzes and to attract others of like mind through widgets, games and discussion boards. But it is important to remember that EVERY single piece of data that you share contributes to your seen and unseen profile. That’s right, your interaction, your engagement and your PREFERENCES are captured by the massive databases that power the sites that we love such as Facebook and Google.
Colin from Canuckflack shares this brilliant presentation that explains exactly what happens to your information. Now, it is fine to play and engage with these sites … it is just important to do so in full knowledge of the mechanisms that SUBSIDIZE the "free" nature of the systems. Remember, there really is no such thing as a free lunch.