Personal Profiles and Other Publicly Available Information

Personal Profiles and Other Publicly Available Information
An Internet Hotlist on Detecting and Protecting Your Digital Footprint

created by Professor-Librarian Robert J. Lackie
Rider University

Introduction | Notable Social Networking Sites | Notable Personal Information Search Engines | Online Identity and Privacy Information Resource Sites | Website Author's Information

Introduction
Do you know who you or your friends and family may be 'talking to' or what you may be 'sharing' online?

'Social Networking' sites, (which consist of interactive networks of photos, blogs, user profiles, groups, and internal email systems interconnecting the people who join them, and allowing for direct or indirect interaction with or influence on each other), have become some of the highest traffic sites on the Web in 2009. Hundreds of millions of people have joined many of the hundreds of social networking sites available around the world. The number of these sites and those joining them seems to be growing exponentially.

Social networking sites have strong appeal to young adults because of the interactivity between users, and the ability to discover new individuals and groups by looking through other people's profiles and their lists of friends and contacts. Communication and picture-sharing has now become a very easy process. Consequently, these sites have become a haven for the creation of new trends and the dissemination of information.

Social networking sites are not the only Web locations to find 'public' information on individuals. Besides the huge general purpose search engines, (e.g., Google and Yahoo!), there are a wealth of 'people finder' search engines. These personal information search engines have attracted a lot of publicity for the particular type of sensitive personal information that they are easily sharing.

The following links will give you just 'a taste' of the notable social networking sites available, as well as personal information search engines providing publicly available data on many of us--probably even you!

Sites for online identity and privacy reports, articles, and protection organizations can also be found on the bottom third of this site. However, don't forget about your local university and public library resources. Our libraries, especially with their large number and variety of databases, contain full text articles from books, magazines, journals, and newspapers on detecting and protecting your digital footprint. And, hey, see your librarian for valuable assistance--they love to help!

The Internet Resources

Notable Social Networking Sites

Facebook - Facebook “is a social utility that connects people with friends and others who work, study and live around them. People use Facebook to keep up with friends, upload an unlimited number of photos, share links and videos, and learn more about the people they meet.” There were two distinct Facebooks: one for people in college and one for people in high school, but that has changed. Facebook was founded by Mark Zuckerberg in 2004. I have used it to communicate with my public speaking students, after I figured out that they were communicating with each other via its network - that's how they knew when someone's birthday in class was coming up before I did! “Facebook has a new answer to the portal question. The “social graph,” or your network of relationships, will push information to you. You’ll learn from your friends. Thanks to Facebook’s new developer platform, the types of information being disseminated now include not just news, photos, events, and groups but also music, videos, books, movies, causes, political campaigns — and the list is rapidly growing into almost every conceivable category (http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/05/31/the-new-portals-its-the-bread-not-the-peanut-butter/).” “Facebook is working on translating the site into new languages. We want everyone to be able to use Facebook.” So, Facebook is not just for students anymore. Back in October 2008, Alexa considered Facebook to be the world's 8th most popular website and 3rd in the U.S. In March 2009, it was still listed 3rd in the U.S. but 5th in the world. As of September 2009, it was still ranked 3rd in the U.S. but it is also now 3rd in the world! (http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details/facebook.com).
Flickr - Owned by Yahoo since March 2005, Flickr has been touted by many as the world's best online photo management and sharing application site. They have picture galleries available with social networking, chat, groups, and photo ratings, which includes an interesting companion blog, as well. Which may explain why their popularity has risen as we can see on Alexa.com. Back in October 2008, it was the world's 31st most popular website, and it remained fairly constant in the U.S. staying at the rank of 19th in October 2008. In March 2009, Flickr was ranked 18th in the U.S. and 33rd in the world. As of September 2009, it is ranked 19th in the U.S. and 33rd in the world (http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details/flickr.com).
LiveJournal - “Six Apart acquired LiveJournal in January 2005 from its founder, Brad Fitzpatrick. From its founding, LiveJournal popularized many of the fundamental innovations of social media, such as friend’s lists and powerful privacy controls. “LiveJournal (LJ) is a simple-to-use communication tool that lets you express yourself and connect with friends online. You can use LJ in many different ways: as a private journal, a blog, a social network and much more. LJ is built on open source software.” It is mostly popular in the U.S., but there are many people registered from Russia, Canada, and the UK, too. Alexa ranked LJ as 76th in the world and 51st in the U.S. back in October 2008. In March 2009, LJ was ranked 63rd in the U.S. and 87th in the world. As of September 2009, it has a rank of 53 in the U.S. and a rank of 78 in the world (http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details/livejournal.com).
MySpace - “MySpace (or MySpace.com) is a free service (social networking site) that uses the Internet for online communication through an interactive network of photos, blogs, user profiles, email, web forums, and groups, as well as other media formats.” The current MySpace service was founded by Tom Anderson in 2003. MySpace celebrated its 100 millionth member registration on August 9, 2006. There have been a boatload of articles about MySpace recently, including those dealing with safety especially because of the detailed profiles that many publish there, so there's no shortage of coverage for what is, for now, the king of personal, social networking sites. Interestingly, Google has signed a $900 million deal to provide search functions and advertising to MySpace, so look for the familiar Google search boxes on MySpace. Amazingly, according to the Alexa Site - which provides web traffic information - in October 2008, MySpace was listed as the 3rd most popular site in the U.S., ranked 6th overall in the world. In March 2009, MySpace dropped to 5th is the U.S. and 8th overall in the world. As of September 2009, MySpace is ranked 5th in the U.S. and 11th in the world (http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details/myspace.com).
YouTube: Broadcast Yourself - YouTube is one of the fastest growing social networking sites in the world, built around the posting of videos and sharing video experiences & critiques with others. According to YouTube, it is 'the leader in online video, and the premier destination to watch and share original videos worldwide through a Web experience. YouTube allows people to easily upload and share video clips on www.youtube.com and across the Internet through websites, mobile devices, blogs, and email. Everyone can watch videos on YouTube. People can see first-hand accounts of current events, find videos about their hobbies and interests, and discover the quirky and unusual. As more people capture special moments on video, YouTube is empowering them to become the broadcasters of tomorrow.' Alexa.com ranked YouTube as the 3rd most popular site in the world back in October 2008, more popular than most general-purpose, well-known search engines on the Web! Its rank in the U.S. was 7. In March 2009, YouTube was ranked 4th in the U.S. and 3rd in the world. As of September 2009, it is ranked 4th in the U.S. and 4th in the world (http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details/youtube.com).
hi5 - According to hi5 itself, 'hi5 offers a popular destination for the teens and twenties demographic around the world. Over 50 million members around the world have registered for hi5 to discover friends with similar interests, to reconnect with friends from the past, and to express their personalities. In less than two years, hi5 has built one of the fastest growing online destinations. Internet media has become increasingly important, especially to the generation that spends time on hi5.' hi5 does have over 50 million registered members, with 'a unique, global footprint that touches North and South America, Europe, and Asia.' It was ranked back in October 2008 by Alexa as 16th in the world, and in October 2008, it was ranked as the 74th most popular. In March 2009, hi5 was ranked 96 in the U.S. and 17 in the world. As of September 2009, hi5 has a rank of 217 in the U.S. and 38th in the world (http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details/hi5.com). Something I found interesting about it was that several high profile singers and models are confirmed to be members, according to the “hi5.com” Wikipedia article.

Notable Personal Information Search Engines

LinkedIn - LinkedIn, a personal information search engine, could also be categorized as a social networking site, although it does cater to business people. It offers both free and fee-based options, and its goal is “to become the most useful business web site for millions of professionals across the globe.” This online network and search engine, as of the summer of 2006, connects almost 10 million experienced professionals from around the world, representing 130 industries. You join for free, create a “profile that summarizes your professional accomplishments. Your profile helps you find and be found by former colleagues, clients, and partners. You can add more connections by inviting trusted contacts to join LinkedIn and connect to you. Your network consists of your connections and the connections of the people they know, linking you to thousands of qualified professionals.” You may or may not have heard of LinkedIn, but it is certainly growing. Its U.S. rank was 64 and its world rank was 216 back in October 2008. In March 2009, LinkedIn was ranked 43rd in the U.S. and 146 in the world. As of September 2009, it is ranked 23rd in the U.S., and has a rank of 62 in the world (http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details/linkedin.com).
Pipl: The Most Comprehensive People Search on the Web - 'Unlike a typical search-engine, Pipl is designed to retrieve information from the deep web, our robots are set to interact with searchable databases and extract facts, contact details and other relevant information from personal profiles, member directories, scientific publications, court records and numerous other deep-web sources. Pipl is not just about finding more results; we are using advanced language-analysis and ranking algorithms to bring you the most relevant bits of information about a person in a single, easy-to-read results page.' I added this item in mid-2009 to this Filamentality site, so I don't have past (late 2008 or early 2009) Alexa ranking data, but Alexa, in September 2009, listed Pipl at the rank of 3,483 in the world and a rank of 1,540 in the U.S.--I expect its popularity to grow (http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details/pipl.com).
PrivateEye: Because you need to know - From PublicRecordsNow, this 'People Search' section of PrivateEye 'Searches 10 databases and 2,268,819,679 records.' (by the way, I haven't noticed any change in record numbers they provide)in a single search. Databases searched include real property records, voters' registration, current and historical phone records, magazine subscriptions, change of address, national drivers and other proprietary databases.' Remember, don't pay for anything! Alexa gave this a rank of 179,832 in the world, and a rank of 56,122 in the U.S. back in October 2008. In March 2009, PrivateEye was ranked 65,958 in the U.S. and 230,093 in the world. As of September 2009 it is ranked 59,671 in the U.S. and 228,405 in the world (http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details/privateeye.com).
Samepoint Social Conversational Search / Social Mentions - 'Samepoint is a conversation search engine that lets you see what people are talking about. Discover, learn and share new web sites and ideas....As user-generated conversations and content are becoming the dominant form of online media, consumers and marketers alike are seeking new ways to tap into the dialogue and become part of the conversation. Enter SamePoint.com, a Web 2.0 start-up that offers a different type of search engine - one that monitors conversations taking place across the major social media points of interaction. Samepoint.com utilizes it's unique technology to bring conversations together from multiple sources to one defined point. SamePoint.com is presently tracking millions of conversations, taking place across in more than tens of thousands blogs and social media sites.' I also just added this item to this Filamentality site, so I don't have past (late 2008 or early 2009) Alexa ranking data, but Alexa ranks Samepoint in September 2009 at 97,953 in the world and as 63,759 in the U.S.--like Pipl, I expect this site to grow in popularity (http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details/samepoint.com).
US Search: Be Informed - 'For over a decade, US SEARCH has given its customers peace of mind by providing the right information to make faster, safer, and smarter decisions for both consumers and Fortune 1000 companies.' They state that US Search ranks third (behind only Yahoo! Get Local and Superpages.com) as the most visited Web site in the 'Directory Category - Nielsen/NetRating' of the most popular directory and local guide sites. What I found interesting about this site is that the basic free search can provide you with the age of the person being searched. It was eerily correct for the people I tried it with. And a few people I know who have never used the Internet for anything, and never will, were disturbed that their ages were available - sorry!. FYI: Alexa ranked U.S. Search as the 3,347 rank in the world back in October 2008. However, its popularity in the U.S. was better with a U.S. rank in Alexa of 859 back in October 2008. In March 2009, US Search had a rank of 711 in the U.S. and 2,950 in the world. As of September 2009, it has the rank of 1,343 in the U.S. and 4,251 in the world (http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details/ussearch.com).
WhitePages.com: Phone Directory with Free People Search - Who has not heard of ‘WhitePages’? Well, WhitePages states that they are “the leading provider of online directory assistance services to consumers. The company continually strives to be the single best source for finding information to contact people and businesses while respecting their privacy. The WhitePages.com Network is comprised of WhitePages.com, WhitePages.ca, PhoneNumber.com, and 411.com. WhitePages.com offers consumers a free, simple, fast and reliable way to identify the personal and business contact information they need.” It does seem to be fairly quick for locating personal information, such as spouses, addresses, phone numbers, and neighbors’ info and it links you to US Search for more. Alexa ranked WhitePages back in October 2008 at 674 in the world, and it was ranked as 157th in the U.S. back in October 2008. In March 2009, WhitePages.com had the rank of 139 in the U.S. and 577 in the world. As of September 2009 it has the rank of 144 in the U.S. and 625 in the world (http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details/whitepages.com).
ZabaSearch: Free People Search Engine - ZabaSearch got a lot of publicity a few years ago, much of it negative, and since then, they have changed the look and feel of their site dramatically. Still, they stress that they are 'The #1 Free People Search and Public Information Search Engine.' This fairly well-known and powerful people search engine can return personal information going back as far as 10 years. They claim that all of the material that they provide is available to the public (which seems to be true,) but they make it much easier for us by putting it all together for us. By the way, Alexa ranked this site as 5,858 back in October 2008, but the U.S. rank was a lot better with a rank of 1,939 back in October 2008. In March 2009, ZabaSearch had the rank of 2,005 in the U.S. and 7,038 in the world. As of September 2009, it has the rank of 2,848 in the U.S. and 11,291 in the world (http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details/zabasearch.com).
ZoomInfo: People, Companies, Relationships - 'ZoomInfo, the premier summarization search engine (also called a vertical search engine) delivers fresh, comprehensive information on millions of business professionals and companies across virtually every industry. How do we do it? Well, at the risk of being boastful, we have incredible technology that (Jonathan Stern) and (Michel Decary) and Jeremy Rothman-Shore invented. ZoomInfo finds, understands, and extracts information from millions of online sources such as Web sites, press releases, electronic news services, and SEC filings and summarizes the information into a comprehensive format'. What they did do on me and a few of my colleagues, for instance, is automatically create focused summaries of us using a wide variety of online sources, and it can do the same for a company as it does for an individual. I found it very interesting, although not totally correct. In case this still doesn't interest you, know that it “powers people search for Amazon's A9.com and Business Week,” according to Wikipedia. You can register and create a Web summary if you would like, if one does not exist or cannot be found. Interestingly, Alexa's world rank for ZoomInfo was only 3,134 back in October 2008, but it was more popular in the U.S. with a rank of 882 from Alexa back in October 2008. In March 2009, ZoomInfo had a rank of 945 in the U.S. and 2,704 in the world. As of September 2009, it has a rank of 717 in the U.S. and 1,862 in the world (http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details/zoominfo.com).

Online Identity and Privacy Information Resource Sites

Center for Democracy and Technology's (CDT's) Guide to Online Privacy - 'While privacy faces threats from both private and government intrusions, the existing motley patchwork of privacy laws and practices fails to provide comprehensive protection. Instead, it causes confusion that fuels a sense of distrust and skepticism, limiting realization of the Internet's potential. A unique combination of tools--legal, technical, and self-regulatory--is being designed to address the privacy concerns of Internet users. Top-priority objectives include setting limits on government access to personal information, ensuring that new information and communication technologies are designed in ways that protect rather than diminish privacy, and developing appropriate federal legislation to set baseline standards for consumer privacy. This guide is intended to educate Internet users about online privacy, and offer practical suggestions and policy recommendations.'
Consumers Union: Nonprofit Publisher of Consumer Reports - 'Consumers Union (CU) is an expert, independent, nonprofit organization, whose mission is to work for a fair, just, and safe marketplace for all consumers. CU publishes Consumer Reports and ConsumerReports.org in addition to two newsletters, Consumer Reports on Health and Consumer Reports Money Adviser.' For those concerned about ID theft, see their FinancialPrivacyNow.org project, which strives to inform us all about personal financial information use and tips for regaining control over our sensitive financial information.
Creating and Connecting: Research and Guidelines on Online Social - and Educational - Networking - This is a report posted by the National Center for Technology Innovation (NCTI), that discusses 'How are kids using the social networking sites?' and give information for how to find out in this report on social networking by Grunwald Associates, conducted in cooperation with the National School Boards Association. 'NCTI staff is committed to identifying the most up-to-date information and resources on technology innovation and facilitating opportunities for partners to collaborate and work with [education] colleagues across the country.'
Cyberbullying and Online Teens - This is a report on 'Cyberbullying and Online Teens' by PEW Internet & American Life Project, which is 'an initiative of the Pew Research Center, a nonprofit “fact tank” that provides information on the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. Pew Internet explores the impact of the internet on children, families, communities, the work place, schools, health care and civic/political life. The Project is nonpartisan and takes no position on policy issues.'
Digital Footprints: Online Identity Management and Search in the Age of Transparency - 'In addition to providing national telephone survey data, this [summary of the free, full text December 2007] report includes quotes from online survey respondents as well as experts in the fields of privacy, online identity management and search.' This new study from the Pew Internet and American Life Project finds that more than half of all Internet users are not worried about how much info is available right now about them online.
Fighting Back Against Identity Theft - This Federal Trade Commission website is a 'one-stop national resource to learn about the crime of identity theft. It provides detailed information to help you deter, detect, and defend against identity theft.' Sections for consumers, businesses, law enforcement personnel, and members of the media are provided, as are state and national data reports, not to mention that all website info is also available in Spanish.
Identity Theft Resource Center: Working to Resolve Identity Theft - 'Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) is a nonprofit, nationally respected organization dedicated exclusively to the understanding and prevention of identity theft. The ITRC provides victim and consumer support as well as public education. The ITRC also advises governmental agencies, legislators, law enforcement, and businesses about the evolving and growing problem of identity theft.' This site provides info on data breaches, victim and consumer resources, and scam alerts, and more--it even provides pages in Spanish and Chinese.
Internet Fraud: How to Avoid Internet Investment Scams - 'Established by Congress in 1934, the SEC identifies as its primary mission protecting investors, and overseeing and regulating the securities markets in the United States. The SEC also provides consumers tips on how to use the Internet to invest wisely and how to avoid cyberfraud.' Their site for registering complaints is http://www.sec.gov/complaint.shtml
NetSafe: Using the Internet Safely - This resource was created by the Illinois Library Association (ILA), who have been the voice for Illinois libraries and the millions who depend on them, since 1896. It is a collection of links, or bookmarks, that 'are designed as a series that will help educate youth and parents to make safe and informed decisions online. Each bookmark is aimed at a specific audience including kids, teens, and parents.'
Privacy Foundation - Affiliated with the University of Denver through the Privacy Center at the University of Denver, this foundation 'conducts research and educates the public about technologies that affect personal privacy when improperly implemented.' One of its main goals is to identify possible threats to individual privacy, and it publishes its findings on this site.
Privacy Rights Clearinghouse: Nonprofit, Consumer Information and Advocacy Organization - Among its goals are to 'raise consumers' awareness of how technology affects personal privacy, empower consumers to take action to control their own personal information by providing practical tips on privacy protection, and respond to specific privacy-related complaints from consumers, intercede on their behalf, and, when appropriate, refer them to the proper organizations for further assistance.' I found their Identity Theft, Financial Privacy, and Internet Privacy links, fact sheets, and stories to be very valuable.
Social Networking Sites: Safety Tips for Tweens and Teens - This site shows a brochure created The Federal Trade Commission in PDF form that suggests some tips for Tween & Teen Consumers on how to socialize safely online.
Teens & Social Networking in School & Public Libraries: A Toolkit for Librarians & Library Workers - This site shows a booklet in PDF form for Librarians on Teens & Social Networking in School & Public Libraries created by Young Adult Library Services Association (YASLA), who 'for nearly 50 years' have been 'the world leader in recommending reading, listening, and viewing for teens.'

Website Author's Information

Robert J. Lackie's Directory Page - Robert J. Lackie is a Professor-Librarian at Rider University, Lawrenceville, New Jersey, where he co-leads the Franklin F. Moore Library's Instruction Program and serves as Library Liaison to the English; Teacher Education; and Graduate Education, Leadership, & Counseling Departments. He is also an adjunct professor in the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program at Rider University. He received his Master of Library and Information Science at the University of South Carolina and his Master of Arts in Curriculum, Instruction, & Supervision at Rider University. In 2004, Robert was chosen as the 'New Jersey Librarian of the Year,' and a recipient of the 'Rider University Award for Distinguished Teaching.' In 2006, he received the 'American Library Association Ken Haycock Award for Promoting Librarianship.' Selected for inclusion in recent editions of Who's Who in America, Who's Who in American Education, and Who’s Who in the World, you can view his profile at [http://www.marquiswhoswho.net/robertjonathanlackie/], and for more detailed information on Robert's 2009 seminars/workshops, his curriculum vitae, short biography, presentations, publications, etc., follow the above link.

Content by Professor-Librarian Robert J. Lackie, rlackie@rider.edu
http://www.kn.att.com/wired/fil/pages/liststudentpe3.html
Last revised Fri Oct 30 10:05:04 US/Pacific 2009