Issues with Microblogging

One of the major problems that has come up with the spreading popularity of microblogs is the issue of privacy. Because people have the power to post sensitive information for all to see (unless he or she has made his or her profile private), many people have encountered problems for doing so - problems like having their identity stolen, for example.

With the burst in use of microblogs, blogs, and social networking sites, people are putting more information out there for users to access. With this available information comes the problem of the wrong people coming across that information and taking it and using it to steal people's identities. Information like birth date, sex, hometown, occupation, profile pictures, and etc allow identity thieves to gather an arsenal of information about a person, and in some cases, the damages done by identity theft can be irreparable.

Social Networking sites along with other similar kinds of websites have responded to this problem by letting users have the choice of what information they can and cannot share, and they have also allowed the option for people to make their profiles private. However, even with this, many people still share information and allow it to be public. With knowing the risks about the Internet, why do you think people still put sensitive information out there for all to see?

Another problem that has come up not only with microblogs, but the Internet in general, is people sharing sensitive information that was not intended for others to see . In fact, Twitter was involved in a case where their personal company documents were hacked and shared on the Internet for all to see. Similarly, law enforcement and popular social networking websites have had to crack down on bullying over the Internet because it has led some children to take there own lives. The only way that many popular SNSs have been able to combat both of these problems is by showing warning statements that warn users against: sharing information and pictures that are not that user's own, and sharing or posting information that could potentially defame another individual.

Do you think there are any ways that these problems can be completely stopped? Or are these problems simply unavoidable?

What is Microblogging?

Microblogging is a simpler version of a blog that allows one to generate updates on-the-go using only 140 characters or less. Over the years, microblogging has become more and more popular and one of the most popular microblogging websites used today is Twitter.com. Microblogging is used for many different purposes like: keeping in touch with friends; accessing updated information on favorite celebrities (like what your favorite band is up to, for example); to promote products, restaurants, and nightclubs; and some even use microblogs simply as a form of expression.

The purpose of microblogging is to give people, companies, and other entities the ability to share short updates with all subscribers (or viewers, in the case of publicly accessible microblogs) in real time. This technique has been succesful because it allows users to have access to information immediately and, if applicable, straight from the source. In addition to that, the fact that the updates are short make microblogs more attractive for readers than reading, for example, a long blog entry or newspaper article. The fact that there is a limit to how much one can write in an update also influences microbloggers to get right to the point in their updates, whereas in a blog, it might take them longer to get to the point.

What do you use microblogging for? Do you think this fad will last very long?

For those of you who do not really understand microblogging, here is a really great video explaining how Twitter works: