A few weeks ago I wrote a guest blog on Harvard Business Review’s Online site. The blog which is linked to below basically explains what happened to me when my Facebook account was hacked. One day after this article appeared I received the following message from “Barry” at Facebook: After reviewing this report, we determined that the profile you are reporting violates our Statement of Rights and Responsibilities. As a result, we removed this profile from Facebook. Needless to say, I was relieved that I had my identity back. I still wonder what would have happened had I not had the good fortune of being able to telegraph my tale of woe to thousands of people who read the blog. It is a complicated question. I have tried to provide some insights into my experience and some challenges in the Harvard Business Review blog below.
Can Facebook Remain Faceless?
I have been a consistent user of social media for many years. I’ve used Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and now Google+ to conduct research, network, and generally connect with friends and colleagues. I confess I am guilty of not changing my passwords often enough and using similar passwords for different accounts. I am not the first person, nor will I be the last, to forget or choose ease of access over security. After all, how many passwords can our human brains contend with?