Us humans are a social bunch. We make friends, we work as teams, and we like to party. Sure, we value our alone-time, but we also like knowing that we can reach out to others if needed. And the rapid spread of social networking technology shows how strongly we feel about sharing our lives with those around us.
But with all these means to communicate, just how much are we really sharing?
Letting others know your favourite books and movies is relatively harmless, and we also make employment history and professional connections available when we think it benefits us. But what about those photos of you in a bikini from last year’s holiday? Your friends might give you plenty of “likes” for it, but how do you feel about a future employer seeing it in your profile? Even if you only share it with close friends, they can share it on, ultimately putting your private life in the public domain. For now, it seems, sharing aspects of your life online also means relinquishing control over who you share it with.
And in the wake of recent scandals such as the leaking of celebrity nudes, more and more people are becoming aware of the need for stronger online privacy.
Of course, one can argue that the victims of these scandals shouldn’t have been naive; they shouldn’t have placed such sensitive content in the Cloud to begin with. This leads us to ask, what information really is “safe” enough to put online? And who has the right to make use of it?
That’s why we’re building Friends & Co. We recognise your need to be social, but also your right to your own data. If you’d like to know more, sign up to our waiting list at http://friendsand.co.