The geek and the burglar

Twitter, Facebook, etc. have really tapped into our needs of social catharsis, showing off and voyeurism. These obviously win over our privacy and self-protection instincts. What’s wrong with us? Can’t we help sharing our every step, thought and whereabouts?

It might be an age thing – I try being selective with the people I  allow into my network, but according to British insurance and investment management firm Legal & General, 13% of Facebook users and 92% of Twitter users tend to accept followers requests without checking them up.  And according to web security firm Sophos research shows that 41% per cent of people display personal and private information to complete strangers on Facebook, such as their date of birth, where they worked, where they lived and what they were doing. The result is that naive social network users may face higher insurance prices and limited coverage in case of burglary.

And speaking of naivety and robbery, I just love this story of the burglar who had to check his Facebook profile still at the crime scene, forgot to logout and got caught. Couldn’t help it the sad geek.