Social media in the digital age has changed our lives – it boosts productivity and makes communication simpler. But what is at stake? Should we feel as comfortable as we do on social media sites? Contractors working in IT contract jobs won’t be surprised to hear that Facebook are exploiting your personal data despite its claim to be a harmless site for interaction and networking, selling it onto the government who buy into and exploit the sites data collection capabilities.
Think Progress have obtained a number of private emails, showing the US government to have employed contractors to create fake Facebook and Twitter accounts in the hope of infiltrating and sabotaging progressive groups that oppose the policies of the (USCC) and the US government. These contractors sell the information they gather to the highest bidder, and offer their services to create fake online identities, mine personal data and hack personal computers. Upon exposure, USCC halted all business dealings with HBGary, who were found guilty of selling personal management services to the US government for spying and infiltration purposes.
Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks has named Facebook as “the most appealing spying machine ever invented”. He has commented upon how trustful users are of the social networking site: “here we have the world’s most comprehensive database about people, their relationships, their names, their addresses, their locations, their communications with each other, and their relatives, all accessible to U.S. intelligence”.
The site is routinely used by US intelligence to illegally collect information on individuals. Any time a user updates their profile or reveals personal information to their friends, they are essentially doing unpaid work for the US intelligence. Facebook is not new to sharing public information, and has been caught up in privacy and security issues before: under the guise of protecting information, Facebook has long collected all kinds of personal data and sold it onto advertisers, so they can target a certain demographic with adverts that will appeal to them.
There has been a lot of talk recently about the power of social media sites, and this would seem to be the icing on the cake. Our privacy is at stake!
Savvy freelancers and contractors should get involved in Google+ and seize the opportunity to market your products and your services in new and creative ways. You have a chance to carve out a niche before competition gets on board and look for avenues of opportunity to move in with a sales pitch. A presence on Google+ may well land you future IT contract jobs!
The more you engage with Google+, the more you will get out of it. No one can doubt the impact that social media has had upon business in the twenty first century and Google+ won’t be one to buck the trend. Adapting to a new platform of communication can be daunting at times, but there are a few steps you can take to make the adjustment a bit easier.
Google+ is a great way for IT contractors to meet others from their sector, and a great opportunity for networking. You can search for people by name, company, interest, location or topic - a handy tool for the freelancer. Circles plays up the idea that the information you share is not suitable for everyone, and offers you the opportunity to share different things with different people; create online circles to mirror your real life social groups, no matter how niche. Google+ allows you to create targeted circles, so you can keep tabs on the issues that matter most to you and your business.
What’s great about circles is that it isn’t public. Adding someone to a circle isn’t like adding them as a friend on Facebook; instead, it personalizes the stream of information you receive so it fits your interests. Once you have ‘circled’ everyone you know to a circle, start adding people you don’t to widen your network.
Google+ is all about sharing what matters with the people who will appreciate it most. When you deem something to be of interest, you can give it a +1, which offers a signal to the creator that their post was of value. The +1 tool is a great way to meet people who share similar interests to yourself or work within the same field, from which you may just learn something from.
At the moment, Google+ is mainly inhabited by those who work in IT, technology and media so IT consultants and contractors are advised to get involved! The greater your presence on Google+, the easier it is for others to discover you and your services, and more interaction. This can only be a good thing for business!
The more you engage with Google+, the more you will get out of it. No one can doubt the impact that social media has had upon business in the twenty first century and Google+ won’t be one to buck the trend. Adapting to a new platform of communication can be daunting at times, but there are a few steps you can take to make the adjustment a bit easier.
Google+ is a great way for IT contractors to meet others from their sector, and a great opportunity for networking. You can search for people by name, company, interest, location or topic - a handy tool for the freelancer. Circles plays up the idea that the information you share is not suitable for everyone, and offers you the opportunity to share different things with different people; create online circles to mirror your real life social groups, no matter how niche. Google+ allows you to create targeted circles, so you can keep tabs on the issues that matter most to you and your business.
What’s great about circles is that it isn’t public. Adding someone to a circle isn’t like adding them as a friend on Facebook; instead, it personalizes the stream of information you receive so it fits your interests. Once you have ‘circled’ everyone you know to a circle, start adding people you don’t to widen your network.
Google+ is all about sharing what matters with the people who will appreciate it most. When you deem something to be of interest, you can give it a +1, which offers a signal to the creator that their post was of value. The +1 tool is a great way to meet people who share similar interests to yourself or work within the same field, from which you may just learn something from.
At the moment, Google+ is mainly inhabited by those who work in IT, technology and media so IT consultants and contractors are advised to get involved! The greater your presence on Google+, the easier it is for others to discover you and your services, and more interaction. This can only be a good thing for business!