Taking it too far?

I came across a very interesting article as I was browsing the net earlier on today. It was based on Criminals who now have thheir own Facebook profiles set up for them, and have people updating their pages on behalf of them. There has been a pledge to shut them down, and they most likely will be in a matter of time. What I found interesting is the reason why these profiles are being shut down, or are seen as potentially threatening.

"The last thing we want is for them to be communicating to the outside world and it will be very difficult to determine how one would manage that through legislation but I am certainly keen to find a way to try and close them down", Costa was reported as saying.

I find it extrememly scary that hard criminals are able to use social networking sites such as Facebook to make contact with the public. Even if they aren't the ones who are personally posting on to these pages, the fact that they have their names out there and that they have people posting on their behalf is quiet threatening to the safety of the general public. I personally feel like these criminals could be using their Facebook pages to communicate and plan attacks and brutal murders.

Ok, so it may seem like I'm being a little dramatic, but wouldn't you be thinking the same thing? Never before has it been so easy for a criminal to make contact with so many people at once. Facebook and Twiter have opened the doors to communicating with hundreds, sometimes even thousands of people at once. What seemed like something so innocent and fun and socialable now seems to be more than what meets the eye.

The article has got me thinking further about the threatening people who may take advantage of Facebooks services. Paedophiles, Thieves, Murderers, Rapists....they are not banned from the site. There is nothing, no miraculous filter that can stop them from creating a profile and gaining access to peoples profiles by befriending them. I can only imagine how many young teenagers have been lured into traps by Paedophiles posing as a younger person and wanting to meet up. Or the amount of Thieves who may see that your family is going to Sydney for the weekend and take that opportunity to break in to your home.
Looking at it from this perspective, I can see why social networking sites are no longer safe online places for people to socialize. They are potential hazards and people need to be cautious when befriending strangers on these sites. Because that stranger might seem like a nobody to you, but in reality, they could be the crazy person out to get you.

photograph..

In this weeks seminar we spent a decent portion of the lesson looking at photographs and how they represent us as individuals, due to the fact that this weeks lesson was all about self revelation.

In groups of 3 we looked at one group members photo and analyzed the location, the closeness, if anyone else was in the photograph etc. This led to several questions asked by Peter Hughes in order to establish a few fair points. Some of these points established an already clearer understanding of why we take photos, who we take them with and where we store them. A majority of the class raised their hands when they were asked if they had 10 or more photos on their mobile phones.

The class discussion then moved towards how these photographs define us. Why do we use a photograph of the back of our head as our default picture on Facebook, and what does it say about us? Why and in what way do we judge these people?

It was made clear to me during that part of the lesson that we are quick to judge people based on what images they put out there to represent them. Similarly, we only post photos of ourselves on social sites like Facebook and Myspace based on how we would like to present ourselves. Furthermore, because there is certain information that we would like to share or withold from our friends, we might be more wary of the images that are up on Facebook of us.

For example, you may not want everyone on Facebook to see photos of you at a club at the risk of being judged as a party animal or someone who doesn't take life very seriously. This could be a bit of a problem if a future employer were to encounter these photographs. Alternatively, you may want to make that photograph of you at the club visible for everyone because you want them to percieve you as out going and social, fun and exciting.

You can see that different people have different perceptions of different images, and a simple photograph of you can say so many things. For that reason we are cautious with the things we do and don't put online of ourselves. As the security problems in our society increase, there become more concernts for privacy and for the way we are percieved.

just a quick note for anyone who is interested...

I came across the annual 'Vanity Fair 100' today, and saw that Facebook's C.E.O. Mark Zuckerberg was number 1 at the top of the list. Rupert Murdoch, was at number 4.

I found it really interesting that in 2007, Mark Zuckerberg wasnt even on the list....and that Rupert Murdoch was at number 1.

Is this telling us something about the way the media is evolving and changing?