UW students develop new online social networking technology

News Type: Event — Seeded on Wed Nov 26, 2008 12:05 PM EST

Article Source: msnbc.com

technology, msnbci, news, local-news, facebook, myspace, social-networking, seattle-wa, university-of-washington, huskies

Seeded by tyler

New technology developed by some students at the UW could change how users share photos on Facebook and MySpace.

"My mom is on Facebook, my dad is. All my professors are on Facebook now. It's hard for me to share stuff with my friends without them seeing everything," said [Michael] Toomim.

So Toomim and co-founder Nathan Morris developed Friendbo, an application that allows online social networkers to upload photos and protect the photo group with questions that only people in that group would be able to answer.

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5.1

{"commentId":4209925,"authorDomain":"tyler"}

tyler

This is pretty fantastic. Bow Down to Washington and all that.

Although I think it'd be difficult to have a password that everyone could remember/guess.

{"commentId":4209925,"threadId":"428823","contentId":"2152355","authorDomain":"tyler"}

2 votes

#1 - Wed Nov 26, 2008 12:05 PM EST

{"commentId":4210109,"authorDomain":"raatkiraani"}

Raat ki Raani

Much like real life socializing, the security strength depends on the question. It would protect users from unwanted access to certain photos.

Sounds like a good idea. But let me play Devil's advocate. What may sound good for innocent pupils wishing to preserve some element of privacy from elders who still have their interests at heart may simply open them up to the risk of predators who are virtual, yet have got past the initial safety nets and won over the confidence of the individual(s) to be in that exclusive group. And then let's expand the argument wider.

A recent report (Lauhal's seeded it this week) touches on a prank against redheads that seems to have got a little out of hand through Facebook Groups. At least in that example, the source could be readily identified. But not if it happens to be from an exclusive club. And if we go even wider, there is nothing to stop hate groups and even terrorists from exploiting the very safety offered by this kind of social networking to perpetuate evil in society.

There are a lot of questions that should be asked and thought through before the gates are allowed to be opened wider in the interests of technology and its evolution.

{"commentId":4210109,"threadId":"428823","contentId":"2152355","authorDomain":"raatkiraani"}

3 votes

#1.1 - Wed Nov 26, 2008 12:21 PM EST

{"commentId":4213539,"authorDomain":"tyler"}

tyler

But let me play Devil's advocate. What may sound good for innocent pupils wishing to preserve some element of privacy from elders who still have their interests at heart may simply open them up to the risk of predators who are virtual, yet have got past the initial safety nets and won over the confidence of the individual(s) to be in that exclusive group.

Okay, I see where you're coming from...but I think Toomim is the exception in his carefulness online. The sum result in the useless hypothetical of something like Friendbo being static and widespread is that way less people would have folks they never intended to reach see them compromised.

Right now, Facebook is still right-click, save as for pictures. I could get something incriminating on hundreds of acquaintances.

And if we go even wider, there is nothing to stop hate groups and even terrorists from exploiting the very safety offered by this kind of social networking to perpetuate evil in society.

I'd hope Friendbo would still allow for site moderators to investigate. Bias? You decide. :)

{"commentId":4213539,"threadId":"428823","contentId":"2152355","authorDomain":"tyler"}

3 votes

#1.2 - Wed Nov 26, 2008 5:18 PM EST

{"commentId":4644095,"authorDomain":"engel-johnson"}

engel-johnsonDeleted

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TYLER

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UW students develop new online social networking technology

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