There is a new social networking web service out called Spokeo. They say: "Learn something about your friends ...Guaranteed!". Basically, they are a social network aggregator (free to try, monthly subscription). Type in an email address and they search 22 social networks for any content/info posted by that person. The concept is simple enough. Initially, I thought that this would be a good way to find out which social networks your friends are using, so that you view their content or join and add them as a friend. I decided to give it a try. Upon logging in, I was amazed when I saw an aggregated timeline of all the updates that my friends had made across nearly every social network. Similar to FriendFeed, but force fed (everybody's feeds are shown, no opt in required). The site has a lot more implications, both good and bad. This can be a good tool to stay current with your friends or just interesting people. If they post on many social networks you can receive all their updates in one place and not have to visit each site individually. And if they start using a new site, you will know automatically.

I do get a bit worried however. We are hearing more and more about people not getting hired for jobs because of content on their Facebook or kids getting suspended from school because of pictures on their MySpace. Not to mention this is perfect "stalker-ware"! This tool can make this process 22 times easier. No guessing what sites they use and searching manually. Incriminating evidence just shows up! Automagically!

This also brings up privacy issues. More specifically "privacy through obscurity" (similar to "security through obscurity"). You are not more private by using Picturetrail instead of Flickr or DailyMotion over YouTube or Bebo and not MySpace. And you never really were since the creation of Google, but it is getting a whole lot easier! Spokeo performs its searches based on email address. So by using different email addresses for different aspects of your life you can limit the amount of info Spokio can find. Beyond that people are left with a few options: (1) Either don't use these social network services, (2) only use them if you can make a private profile, or (3) embrace it: put your thoughts out there for everyone to see, add to the global conversation, and stand behind your opinions/actions. I was in a talk with Justin Kistner recently and he said something that stuck with me: "Privacy is for the emotionally insecure". I am starting to come around to his opinion (at least from a social point of view; political environments can make this tricky).

Services like Spokeo will continue to crop up and make accessing information easier and easier, you either need to be very conscious of your privacy or assume that everything you post will be available to the world.

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