How Big Data Justifies Mining Your Social Data 102
GMGruman writes "Paul Krill reports that one of the big uses of the new "Big Data" analytics technology is to mine the information people post through social networking. Which led him to ask 'What gives Twitter, Facebook, et al. the right to mine that data?' It turns out, users do when they sign up for social networking services, even if they don't realize that — but less clear is the ownership of other information on the Web that these tools also mine."
click-through TOS (Score:5, Insightful)
i think it's time click-through "I Agree" ten mile pages for new accounts get a test in court. people "sign" away too much, and not many people read those "agreements".
News? (Score:5, Insightful)
Which led him to ask 'What gives Twitter, Facebook, et al. the right to mine that data?' It turns out, users do when they sign up for social networking services, even if they don't realize that
End of discussion. Pointless article is pointless.
No Free Lunch (Score:5, Insightful)
This type of data mining is not something that bothers me. I think it should be more in the open, and maybe regulated to protect the average consumer, but it is not horrible. What I find horrible is places like Krogers and CVS that offer products far above prevailing prices and require one to have a card that will allow them to track and collect huge amounts of private data. Sure, we don't have to shop at CVS or Krogers, and sure they provide the occasional really good deal, but if i were to regulate something it would be these scams, not services that actually provide a useful service in exchange for data.
Re:News? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:News? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:News? (Score:5, Insightful)
Ignorance is no excuse in the eyes of the law.
Well it bloody well ought to be. Laws are written by a caste of high priests in an arcane domain-specific language, behind closed doors and in the dead of night. They *intend* them to be unknowable by non-lawyers; it's part of the business model.
REALLY concerned about privacy? DROP OUT... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:News? (Score:4, Insightful)
Like it or not, Facebook provides a service. There ain't no such thing as a free lunch. If you don't like the exchange, don't participate.
Nobody is concerned about privacy (Score:4, Insightful)
"So what?"
That is an exchange that I had with someone when I was an undergrad. People do not actually care if companies are mining their private lives, they just want to use Facebook and Twitter and not have to think about anything.