Wow, its a nerdy blog war!! @dkruythoff
... but not that this site is a blog! This is a revolution!!!! I digress ...
I just saw this comment posted on my article earlier, #FourSquare Are we asking to be robbed? What crap!
He redirected me to his site, where he posted his response.
Before you go any further, please click the link and read it. Otherwise, you may be lost. Don't worry, I'll wait right here for you ... *twiddles thumbs*
First, let me point out that this is why I love life. I'm not asking for the world to agree with me, but just consider seeing things a bit differently, and not take things exactly as they are presented.
I get what you're saying @dkruythoff however, you're kind of missing my point. Regarding the mashable article, first and foremost - it was a bit diluted. I've read that same article over, and over - it wasn't news. Let's just face that fact.
Furthermore, I was pointing out more the psychology of the end user. Something that we were once so scared to do, is now not even a second thought in our online experiences. In fact, e-commerce, photo, and general information sharing has been pivotal in the success of web 2.0. We dig knowing things about each other. Whether that is discovering someone new, or discovering something new about an old friend - it is kinda cool. Clearly, the 400 million users of Facebook would agree with that statement.
We are comfortable with sharing old pictures of the street we grew up on, our pets, our families ... etc. Information that was otherwise considered private. Did you realize that the street you grew up on is also one of the most commonly asked security questions? So, you feel comfortable sharing that online - with people you "know," but what if their account gets hacked? What if they comment on that picture, and it posts on their wall, and their friends can view the picture. What if that user doesn't know everyone on their friend list personally?
I hope you see what I'm getting at here. This is the information age, fact. If someone wants to find something out about you, they are going to. Is location based social media making it easier? Probably. How many people do you live with? Are you with every household member 24/7? I have roommates, and at any given moment someone is almost ALWAYS here. Do I have things I want to hide in life? Maybe. But to be perfectly frank, working as an online reputation manager has taught me that there really is no hiding.
I have come to the following conclusion on my location based social media experience: When you offer people this type of information they become desensitized to it, and therefore do not act upon it. It seems to be more thrilling to "find it out on your own," and taunt the person. I've been using FourSquare almost daily for the last 4 months, and no one has shown up and tried hurting me - nor have I been robbed. If you offer people information point blank, it takes the thrill out of it for those who might want to cause you any ill will. Am I cautious? Absolutely. But if I lived life thinking the world is out to get me, I wouldn't be enjoying it. I would be so absolutely terrified of leaving my little bubble in the fear that someone could hurt me, and GASP I could die. Fact: None of us are getting out of this ride alive, baby. Enjoy it!
Oh, and for the record ... I'm at my home office at the moment, but no, I'm not creating a FourSquare check in for it.