Social Networking Does Not Mean Pwning My Email
I'm on one or two social networking sites, namely facebook and linkedin. It's a bit of fun, doesn't take up too much time in my day and has allowed me to talk to a few people I haven't spoken to in literally years. However there are aspects about the whole social networking thing that concerns me.
Basically it boils down to people are too trusting.
There are features common to both linkedin and facebook that allow you to see who in your email contacts (provided it's a common web based email service) is also on the site. However in order for you to use this, you need to give over both your email address and your account password. It may just be the cynical bastard in me, but I am not about to hand over my email account to someone I don't know.
The privacy problems with facebook and other services have already been documented, especially the behind the scenes shenanigans, however I wonder how many people have signed up to the "find a friend" services without giving it a second thought?
Sigh, by all means, use the services, but please, please think twice before clicking.