Teens manage their online identities

Pew Internet & American Life Project today published a new report (pdf) called “Teens, Privacy and Online Social Networks: How teens manage their online identities and personal information in the age of MySpace”. The report talks about what kind of information teens share on social networks and what they keep hidden from strangers (and/or parents).

“Many teens post their first name and photos on their profiles, they rarely post information on public profiles they believe would help strangers actually locate them such as their full name, home phone number or cell phone number.”

Of those whose profile can be accessed by anyone online, nearly half (46%) say they give at least some false information. Other interesting findings about the teens with online profils are:

– 82% of profile creators have included their first name in their profiles
– 79% have included photos of themselves.
– 61% have included the name of their city or town.
– 49% have included the name of their school.
– 29% have included their email address.
– 29% have included their last names.
– 2% have included their cell phone numbers.
– 6% of online teens and 11% of profile-owning teens post their first and last names on publicly-accessible profiles;
– 3% of online teens and 5% of profile-owning teens disclose their full names, photos of themselves and the town where they live in publicly-viewable profiles.

As a result, 63% of teens with profiles believe that a motivated person could eventually identify them.

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Easy to be a twit on Twitter

We already knew that the hyped-up service Twitter is not the place for deep thoughts. This week, A-list blogger Steve Rubel learned the hard way that a moment of reflection doesn’t hurt before publishing your views to the world. Here’s what he wrote on Twitter a few days ago:

“PC Mag is another. I have a free sub but it goes in the trash,”

Not the best comment when you are a Senior Vice President of a PR agency that continuously pitches stories to the same publication. Jim Louderback, Editor in Chief of PC Magazine, wasn’t amused and he comments over at Strumpette.

Then one could argue that threatening to boycott Edelman PR all together is a huge overreaction, but Louderback indeed has some very good points.

“…I get a chance to remind everyone out there in PR that, even if you don’t read that copy of PC Magazine, please don’t toss it “in the trash”. Pass it along to someone who really wants it – or at the very least, be kind to the earth and drop it in the recycle bin instead.”

Rubel apologizes.

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The fine art of blogger relations

Microsoft today communicates a report from European Interactive Advertising Association (EIAA) about how social networks, blogs and video sites are the driving forces behind the next generation of internet usage. How is this promoted? Through an old fashioned press release. It is of course possible that this story is also communicated through other channels, but no blogs are linking to this press release yet (search via Technorati and Knuff). Stories like this one should of course be given to bloggers like me (and not via a press release please). Instead, I have to settle for press releases with headlines like these:

DHL sees advantages with a differentiated kilometre tax for heavy vehicles
DHL ser fördelar med en differentierad kilometerskatt för tunga fordon

Healthy fast food ready for break through
Nyttig fast food står inför genombrott

Unity for freedom
Enighet för frihet

World leader in HR in new co-operation with Jönköpings Södra
Världsetta inom HR i nytt samarbete med Jönköpings Södra

Star Wars robot in your own living room
Star Wars-robot i ditt eget vardagsrum

Kläppen attracts sun worshipers and people celebrating Easter
Kläppen lockar soldyrkare och påskfirare

I can go on and on with mindnumbingly boring press releases about topics that have absolutely nothing to do with what I am blogging about. It is quite obvious that Swedish PR professionals have a lot to learn about blogger relations. Contact me if you want a crash course 🙂

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Respect the privacy of individuals

One of the reasons why it is so interesting to study blogs and the effect they have on mainstream media and businesses is that an entirely new group of people suddenly becomes influential. Many of these new opinion leaders are anonymous or at least only known to a select number of friends or relatives (50% of all Swedish bloggers were anonymous in 2006 – source: BlogSweden 2).

One of the most controversial Swedish bloggers two years ago blogged under the pseudonym of “Alicio” (not a favourite). Today, the most linked to blog in Sweden is Beta Alfa (a favourite), publisher unknown. Blog related services like Knuff, Nyligen, Intressant and others have become hugely successful and influential, and many are run by previously unknown entrepreneurs, in these cases by the unknown Johan Larsson.

Andreas Ekström today writes an article in Journalisten where he wonders who Johan Larsson is. With all that power and influence maybe we are all entitled to know more about this mystery man? And I agree that I am very curious myself about the person behind these terrific services. But on the other hand I have the deepest respect for the fact that he wants to keep his private life private.

Admittedly, if one single person sits on a database that allows him to analyze the behaviour and opinions of a large group of people, there needs to be some kind of control mechanism so that this power is not used in an unethical way. But that doesn’t mean that we have the right to know private information about this person. Remember that the ethical rules for the press state that media should respect the privacy of the individual and not publish information that isn’t evidently in the public interest. And I don’t think that personal information about Johan Larsson is.

Respektera den personliga integriteten
7. Överväg noga publicitet som kan kränka privatlivets helgd. Avstå från sådan publicitet om inte ett uppenbart allmänintresse kräver offentlig belysning.

Footnote: Johan responds.

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A global top blog, or something like that…

You are currently reading one of the top 100 marketing blogs in the world, at least if you should believe Todd And’s list The Power 150 – Top Marketing Blogs. He is running an ambitious project which lists top blogs based on a number of factors like Google PageRank, Technorati links, Bloglines subscribers and Todd’s own opinion. Media Culpa is currently at number 71 in the list. Thanks Todd.

Adland is at number 25. Congrats Åsk.