Beware Social Networking!

Haha, the title. Like "beware of the dog"... of terrorism... of paedophilia.

I don't really mean it. Well, i don't mean it like that, of course i mean it- i wrote it.
Anyway.

Facebook, twitter, skype, bebo, myspace or what have you. Those sites where users connecting using their details, often as themselves. I'd beware them.
For two reasons.

I'll express the first as a maxim:

"the greater the integration of a persons authentic profile into a social networking domain, the higher the potential for a 'big brother'"

What i mean to say is that, the more people on social networking sites the greater the ability for people to be seen by anyone anonymous...
By anonymous, im lying.
If the government just took all it's files and shoved their names into these sites, many a thing could be done! For those with little imagination: terrorist profiling (something i noticed the Americans are doing), catch tax frauds, find out those who are committing benefit fraud, under age drinkers, track your friends (so if they commit crime you may be indited) and the list will go on.

A point to note: Xbox will provide facebook, twitter and last fm. It will soon occur through other mediums, television?

The second point, with the looming "big brother" as the first, Corporate profiling. It occurs now, it's not harmful, corps. with a product need to find their target audience.
You like stuff... Your friends also like stuff, and their friends friends like stuff.
Corps wanna sell you stuff.

Effective profiling may be achieved by marking, social groups, genders, geography, schools affiliation, event affiliation - to sell you a product.
I have my problems with this, namely that i don't like the current scheme of consumerism... i think that may relate to my angers over money, and i don't think our current ecological climate can cope- who knows.

Case and point. I think my main worry is the use of social networking information by the police. I want them to catch murders, rapists, tax evaders (but do i? Considering that the gov't put greater tax on people earning 50K than they do on corporations on 50mil...) I do not however agree with many of the laws that exist or the method we use on "criminals".

have a nice day =)