10 Things We Learned From Google

Google has had a big impact on our lives, not only by making it easier to find stuff, but also in changing the way we live, both in our personal and professional lives.

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MP3 File

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Our list of 10:

1. The more, the merrier
2. Know your core business
3. Google knows a lot about you
4. Google knows not only about you, but about the world
5. Google is powerful
6. Google seems to be using its power wisely (so far!)
7. If you can't beat them, buy them
8. Google is run by techies
9. Substance can still beat style
10. There's still room for improvement

Facebook’s Unfriendly Privacy

Facebook recently changed its privacy settings to make many more things public - without their users' permission - and made it ridiculously difficult for an ordinary person to opt out of this system. That last part might have been unintentional, but the first part - making a whole lot more public - certainly wasn't. In this episode, we'll look back at the last few weeks - the action, the backlash, the response and perhaps even the fact that most people didn't know and didn't care about this story - and maybe they should!

Listen to the episode here, or download the MP3 file:


MP3 File

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Background:

• Mark Zuckerberg about privacy
• This isn't the first time Facebook has generated controversy about privacy
• visualization of how Facebook has changed your privacy over time
• EFF: Facebook's Eroding Privacy Policy
  
• What's changed this time
  

The backlash:

• New York Times infographic showing the horrendous maze
• Top 10 Reasons you should quit Facebook
• 31st May is Quit Facebook Day
• European officials chastise Facebook privacy settings

The response:

• Facebook Prepping Changes to Privacy Policy
• Facebook rolls out new privacy changes
• A Guide to Facebook's New, Simpler Privacy Controls
• "Quit Facebook" day is a flop

What can you do?

• If you haven't visited your Facebook privacy settings recently - then it's probably time you did.
• If you have visited your Facebook privacy settings recently then it's still worth doing so again to see whether the new, simpler privacy settings are easier to use.
• Whatever you do, treat Facebook as a public, not a private, place.