Privacy is the issue of the week, as we attempt to keep up with a litany of exciting/alarming/fascinating developments.
One of the more interesting reads of the week is a blog post from the Harvard Business Review that describes the implications for employees, job seekers and companies of Facebook’s newest feature, Timeline. Timeline is Facebook’s vehicle for creating a user biography in words, photos, video, music, etc. How much of your biography do you want your colleagues to see? A potential employer?
In the European Union, plans continue to propose “right to be forgotten” regulations. This post explains the proposed right.
Hackers are aiming more energy at smartphones, the repositories of so many personal and financial details.
In other news, Amazon has announced the pending release of several new Kindles. The Kindle Fire, an Android tablet priced at $199, is aimed directly at potential iPad buyers. The Kindle Fire will likely excel at media consumption tasks (reading books, watching movies, streaming music, playing simple games like Angry Birds) but lacks the features and performance that allow the iPad to function as a passable alternative for a laptop. Some commentators believe that if the Kindle Fire is well executed, the iPad may have its first true rival.
Technology in the Workplace
- Keyloggers Beware – Companies Risk Being Sued by Employees (Workplace Privacy, Data Mgmt. & Security Report)
- Senators Worried Job Seekers Unfairly Harmed by Social Media Background Checks (Forbes)
- Social Media Policies: Guidance Regarding Ethical Issues for Court Employees (Delaware Employment Law Blog)
- Facebook’s Timeline Will Impact Your Career (Harvard Business Review)
- E-Verify Bill Against Illegal Workers in Doubt (WSJ)
- Survey Finds Increasing Number of Employers Use E-Verify (Global Immigration Counsel)
- NLRB Facebook ALJ Opinion (Labor Related)
Technology and the Law More Generally
- EU: The Right to be Forgotten (Fitzpatrick on Employment Law)
- OnStar Announces Reversal of Controversial Vehicle Data Collection Proposals (Privacy and Information Security Law Blog)
Technology This Week
- Why Do You Need a Blog to be Taken Seriously? (Robert Scoble – Google)
- For Hackers, the Next Lock to Pick (NY Times)
- Playing with Fire: Amazon Introduces Android Tablet, Slashes Kindle Prices (Wired)
- Google+ Reaches 50 Million User Mark in About 88 Days (Google Blog)
- Social Media Use on the Rise (Nielsen’s State of the Media Quarterly Report)
- What to Expect from the 2011 Apple iPhone Event (Wired)
- Facebook Keeps a History of Everyone Who Has Ever Poked You, Along with a lot of Other Data (Forbes)
Compiled and Contributed by Scott Raver