The Hidden Dangers of Social Networks: You can log-on but you cannot hide

The Hidden Dangers: You can Log-on But You Cannot Hide Dr Stuart D Lee Oxford University Computing Services

Overview

The importance of Web 2.0

The impact on a central IT service

Changing expectations

Some Concerns

Issues of identity

“ Web 2.0, refers to a perceived second generation of Web-based communities and hosted services — such as social-networking sites, wikis and folksonomies — which aim to facilitate collaboration and sharing between users” + usually free

Web 2.0 Apps McGee, P. and Diaz, V. ‘Wikis and Podcasts and Blogs! Oh, My!’ Educause Review (Sep/Oct 2007) Learning objectives Social bookmarks VCOPs VLWs Exchange information/ideas Interactive Mashups VCOps VLWs Create something new Generative Blogs E-portfolios Collect evidence, present ideas over time Documentative Editing/writing tools VCOPs Wikis Work with others Collaborative Blogs (audio/video) IM Podcasts Webcams Share ideas/data Communicative Tools Function Type

‘5-Factors Driving Change in IT’ Gartner

Web 2.0 - disrupts existing models: ‘Web 2.0 communities, such as MySpace and wikis, connect people in ways that many companies hadn't anticipated when they began to develop their online strategies.’

Experiment with free-form environments. " Social environments" are the wave of the future. Companies should provide interactive tools, such as content tagging systems, RSS feeds, blogs, wikis, etc.

http://www.campustechnology.com/articles/52239

Not just IT services

Stephens, M. Web 2.0 and Libraries: Best Practices for Social Software (Library 2.0)

McKiernan, G. ‘Social Networking Sites for Engaged Library Services’ - http://www.public.iastate.edu/~gerrymck/LITANationalForum2007.ppt

Impact on Central IT

Increased burden on services

Increased demand for new services - changing user expectations

Out-sourcing, and increased demands for justifying central services

Hidden perils

Impact on Central IT

Increased burden on services

Increased demand for new services - changing user expectations

Out-sourcing, and increased demands for justifying central services

Hidden perils

‘ Stephanie Hardwick does not consider herself to be a technology addict, but she carries two MP3 players - an Apple iPod and a Creative Zen - around with her and says she cannot imagine doing her university degree without the internet. A lot of the journals I need are online and I use the internet for everything, like booking tickets, to getting trains, yellow pages. ﾓ T he 21-year-old student studying English at Oxford University says she spends at least an hour a day on Facebook, the social networking site, and downloads some of the plays and books she has to read for her course on to her Zen player, so she can listen to them while working out at the gym…’ FT 29/10/07 http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/71cb770e-85b1-11dc-8170-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1

Surveys (1)

JISC’s ‘Great Expectations’ - http://www.jisc.ac.uk/news/stories/2007/09/expectations

‘ 65% ‘r egularly’ use social networking sites, such as Facebook, MySpace or Flickr (females more than males - 71% and 59% respectively) and only 5% ‘ n ever’ use them’

Surveys (2)

THEMA - Exploring the experiences of Master's students in technology-rich environments ( http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ltg/projects/thema/ )

YouTube

Facebook

Second Life

But …

Educause Centre for Applied Research (ECAR) 2006 showed 70.6% use Facebook several times a week, same number download music/videos

But students prefer moderate technology use, and new students prefer even less.

‘ Don’t bother with IM or Facebook - that’s our network. Leave us alone’

‘ Don’t enter our world to [contact us] … we’ll come to you’

Berg, J., Berquam, L., and Christoph, K. ‘Social Networking Technologies: a “poke” for Campus Services’ Educause Review (March/April 2007)

Web 2.0 ‘speed-bumps’

Security

Identity

Privacy

Business Model

‘ A World of Widgets, Wikis, and Mashups’

www.pcw.co.uk , October 2007

Concerns (1)

‘… we are currently looking into using external Web 2.0 services as part of and after our online courses. Obviously as part of this we need to consider the legal/institutional aspects of this provision’

Concerns (2)

‘ What shocked me about the Facebook audience was how willing they were - and are - to provide information about themselves for benefits that you and I might consider questionable.’

Appvertising

‘ Facebookers abandon online privacy for virtual doo-doo’ October 2007, http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/10/09/facebookers_throw_virtual_feces/

Concerns (3)

‘ Web 2.0 and client-side attacks on social networking technologies, aimed at "stealing private data, hijacking Web transactions, executing phishing scams, and perpetrating corporate espionage’

‘ Web 2.0 tops emerging cyber-threats’ http://www.campustechnology.com/articles/51890

Concerns (4)

‘ We may share your information with third parties, including responsible companies with which we have a relationship’

No way to delete your personal data

University IT Regulations 6.2 - ‘Any password, authorisation code, etc. given to a user will be for his or her use only, and must be kept secure and not disclosed to or used by any other person’

SecondLife