Facebook/Twitter/Etc. conspiracy theories

[Munjibunga]

I have to believe there are a bunch of people out there who think that social networking sites are a government conspiracy to spy on us. I don't necessarily believe there are conspiracies of that sort, but I can guarantee you that the FBI and other law-enforcement agencies have the ability to view everything you put up, private or not.

So let's hear what you've heard, or make up your own.

[Deluge Of Sound]

The feds have busted at least one person for their twitter posts. Facebook is just a seriously slippery slope in regards to privacy.

But I haven't heard any full blown conspiracy theories yet.

[BullHorn]

There was an xkcd comic strip about two months ago on this issue. These companies make billions and now plan to turn evil to... Well, they haven't figured out how to be evil yet.

[jp58]

No conspiracy, but they have been instruments in people committing suicide, robbery, harassment, etc., and have probably been the source of relationship issues galore.

So no evil/harm yet.

[drteeth]

Originally Posted by jp58

No conspiracy, but they have been instruments in people committing suicide, robbery, harassment, etc., and have probably been the source of relationship issues galore.

So no evil/harm yet.

Yes, but these issues were caused by people who were not careful about what information they put online.

[jp58]

Originally Posted by drteeth

Yes, but these issues were caused by people who were not careful about what information they put online.

That's why I said instruments

And the information online was definitely a factor in knowing when someone was out of town and then robbing their house.

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Originally Posted by drteeth

Yes, but these issues were caused by people who were not careful about what information they put online.

Bingo. They are just the arena, it's the people who put information up there that are causing the problems.

Don't post about any illegal activity on the internet.
Getting bullied on Facebook? Change your privacy settings or get rid of it!
etc
etc


Anyone want to be my FB friend?

[MIJ-VI]

Feds address Facebook 'privacy breach'
http://technolog.msnbc.msn.com/_news...privacy-breach

[jp58]

Originally Posted by i_got_a_mohawk

Bingo. They are just the arena, it's the people who put information up there that are causing the problems.

Don't post about any illegal activity on the internet.
Getting bullied on Facebook? Change your privacy settings or get rid of it!
etc
etc


Anyone want to be my FB friend?

But surely personal responsibility isn't the cure.

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Originally Posted by jp58

But surely personal responsibility isn't the cure.

Ah, good point, I forgot this was part of modern day 'western' culture, silly me!

[bassrique]

Do you think your employer would like to know what about your online persona[s]? Many do, and there are companies that find as much as they can, including screen names that we "hide" behind.

How about the government then?

Just read this the other day:

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/...est=latestnews

Older bookmarks:

http://mashable.com/2009/12/02/eff-government-lawsuit/

http://mashable.com/2009/10/19/cia-s...ia-monitoring/

The internet is forever. Everything is cached.

[Disraeli Gears]

Originally Posted by Munjibunga

I have to believe there are a bunch of people out there who think that social networking sites are a government conspiracy to spy on us. I don't necessarily believe there are conspiracies of that sort, but I can guarantee you that the FBI and other law-enforcement agencies have the ability to view everything you put up, private or not.

So let's hear what you've heard, or make up your own.

So you're saying you have a consipracy theory about people who have conspiracy theories about social networking?

On a slightly more relevant note, I don't necessarily think that Facebook, Twitter, etc. were CREATED by the government to get information on people, but I do believe that the government is at least to some extent cashing in on said informational goldmine.

[MIJ-VI]

Open Source Facebook Alternative Diaspora Starts Giving Out Private Alpha Invites
http://www.techdrivein.com/2010/11/o...ntent=FaceBook

[Mark Wilson]

I've heard of companies in Niagara facebooking you and browsing your pictures to see the kind of person you are. ESPECIALLY at the border.

[iamlowsound]

I don't actually exist, this whole internet persona is a carefully woven mass of deception and story telling. There is a real person behind me, but everything you see is fiction.

lowsound

[capnsandwich]

My dad, who's a big dude in the government, says that the US has the ability to read everyone's mail in the world. That's how we can bargain with some of these countries that wouldn't usually have anything to do with us. We know their dirt.

[drteeth]

Originally Posted by capnsandwich

My dad, who's a big dude in the government, says that the US has the ability to read everyone's mail in the world. That's how we can bargain with some of these countries that wouldn't usually have anything to do with us. We know their dirt.

AND they know where to get the REALLY cheap viagra

[fu22ba55]

Munji is obviously a mole, planted by the government to see how much we actually know about the mighty Face-Poke-Twit-Scape Conspiracy...

He's here to flush us out! Don't tell them you know about the conspira....

Wait...

What's that sound?

I can hear the black helicopters coming for me now! Where's my tinfoil hat!

------

But seriosly...

Anybody who's officially paranoid about he government is nowhere NEAR the internet. They are waaaaaay off the grid... no credit cards, etc...

[capnsandwich]

Originally Posted by drteeth

AND they know where to get the REALLY cheap viagra

Yep, my dad's still got it at 62.

[L-A]

All of these social networks are conspiracies to extract the secret information people got forced, FORCED into typing for their public profiles.