Yes, I suppose data revealed through a system *working as intended* isn’t technically a “breach.”

Yes, I suppose data revealed through a system *working as intended* isn’t technically a “breach.”

Most social media these days is built around selling access to participants’ data, directly or indirectly (through ad placement). It doesn’t have to be, but that’s the business model that’s taken hold.

There are alternatives to the big data-mining social networks, but they have their own drawbacks. Blogs still exist, Mastodon is making great strides, you can self-host if you can afford it & have the know-how (or know someone who does)…

But your friends/family aren’t on [cool social network], they’re still on FB & Twitter, so you need to keep them around to talk to them.

And it takes time, effort & money to maintain your own site.

And a lot of networks aren’t as polished as the ones you’re already on…

Leaving FB/Twitter isn’t easy for everyone, or even rewarding for everyone.

We can make it easier, help people diversify, & grow those alternative networks, but let’s not blame those who accept the trade-off & stay on the major sites.

Still, user data is the product. Breaches need one kind of solution. Business practices need another.

Rainmaker

1. Wednesday morning, I took the car in to a place that would not only wash the outside (which it desperately needed), but vacccum the interior. I paid a bit more than I probably should have and had the car waxed as well.

Thursday morning, I set a 3/4-empty coffee cup on top of the car as I arrived at work. A gust of wind promptly knocked it over, spilling it all over the windshield and hood.

Thursday at lunchtime, a freak storm hit, drenching the entire region, flooding streets, causing mudslides in canyons.

Talk about timing.

2. Meanwhile, we haven’t managed to excavate the tv yet, and only half the couch, but alenxa and I watched Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade on one of the computers last night.

3. Also, finaly let myself get talked into setting up a profile on Facebook. Trying to figure out the culture, not so much for the people I still keep in touch with, as for the people I haven’t seen since high school. Now I know why there are so few members of my graduating class on LJ — most of them must have waited until Facebook was the big site before they started getting involved in social networking.