Something about this whole social media thing and especially Facebook has been gnawing at the back of my mind ever since it hit the it’s so cool radar. I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was exactly that was bothering me until I read Chris Brogan’s post about Facebook recently where as more of an aside he mentioned his unease with the TOS (Terms of Service) for Facebook.

In that post he also points to Legal Andrew where Andrew Flusche has a go through of the TOS. During all this one of the WinExtra forums old time members (thanks Garry) posted about a piece on Albino Blacksheep that had some comments about the TOS as well. However, as everyone is centering on the TOS I think there is a much bigger problem with not just Facebook but with all social media.

It’s a problem of personal security; or rather the apparent lack of concern about it with all the social media eager beavers. Regardless of the fact that on a site like Facebook you give them the rights to use your information and content anyway they see fit without having to ask what about all that information you give when you first sign and as you progress through the network.

Can it be that the days where we had any concern who knew where we lived, what our phone numbers are, or see pictures of our children. Every time we turn around some social network is wanting to know more and more about us and we keep on giving it to them. We don’t seem to care that social networks like Facebook are being funded by investment companies that were started by the CIA. We might put our snail mail and other documents through a portable shredder but in the next breath we are all a twitter about where we are going to be at a certain time.

For years now the thieves have gone through our garbage or siphoned our credit card numbers but at least they had to work for the information. Now though here we are handing all that same information and more over to them on a silver platter without an apparent concern in the world.

We might be reading about mother and son being re-united because of Facebook and getting all warm and fuzzy in the process. How long will it be though before some child is kidnapped or some is killed because they thought that these social networks were a good thing.

Well even good things can be used against us in our rush to be cool and not everyone is a friend you would even want to invite in home on Christmas.

Conversation Tags: security, Facebook, identity theft, Chris Brogan, Andrew Flushe, Albino Blacksheep