Roger Clarke says:
I expressed concerns a couple of days ago about Plaxo. I’ve now flung together a draft privacy analysis of address-book and social networking services (SNS) generally, with particular reference to Plaxo. As always, I’d appreciate constructively negative criticism, particularly if I’m being unfair to anyone.
Abstract:
Technology and human ingenuity continue to pose new privacy challenges. During 2003, a new dot.com fashion arose from an odd amalgam of Rolodex address-books, e-communities and dating. Users of these services store personal data on a central server, which can be accessed by other people, and, potentially at least, exploited by the service-operator. There are privacy concerns, of a kind that has been analysed many times before. The new dimension that these services bring is that they entice users to disclose personal data about their friends, business contacts or acquaintances. That is a disturbing feature, and it requires careful analysis.
Link to Very Black Little Black Books (via politech)
—