The barrage of public scrutiny and outcry over Facebook’s privacy changes remains unabated this week. Senators, heads of state and would be politicians are all chiming in on the latest Facebook privacy fiasco. Here are a couple of related articles featured this week:

Open Letter to Facebook on Privacy

Ways for Facebook to Improve User Privacy

Anthony Orsini, a New Jersey middle school principal, was thrust into the national limelight with his call for parents to shut down Facebook and other social networking accounts. His quote du jour was “There is absolutely no reason for any middle school student to be a part of a social networking site!,” he wrote. “Let me repeat that – there is absolutely, positively no reason for any middle school student to be a part of a social networking site!” He goes on to state that his primary reason is that tweens do not have the resilience or psychological skills to withstand or cope with internet name calling. Read More

Along these same lines, there were a couple of articles focused on kid’s online safety and general tips for everyone:

5 Tips for Keeping Your Kids Safe Online

Safety Tips for Twitter, Facebook, and Other ‘Anti-Social Networks’

Another scam popped up this week also. The scam involved Facebook users receiving an email message stating they had been tagged in an album and a friend had commented on it. The email also references an app called “Who stalks into your profile”. If you install the app, it creates a photo montage of your friend’s images and then comments on the montage. Facebook then sends you a “your friend tagged a photo of you” message. This scam app’s goal is to generate illicit online ad revenue. Read More

Until next week, Be safe, Be smart and Don’t get Crooked by the Book!