Question for ATS members - Facebook or "Conspiracy" Book?

Personally, I am getting tired of all the social networking stuff. Gone are my years of MySpace's and Facebook's, I still use FB mostly to keep track of old friends. It is a big scam really, they use people to create the content they need, then use their private data to make a buck with advertising. It is like charging your employees for working for you!
I think it is a good idea for ATS to have 'some' social networking aspects. More is always good as long as the promise of privacy is kept.

I do have a question, how private is ATS data in regards to government agencies interests? What about moving them to Iceland, great network infrastructure and laws protecting private information?

Tinbook sounds interesting, but I would have to see it in action before I decide.

I wouldn't join Facebook now even if they'd pay me a lot to do so!

Everyone interested in social sites should google and read up on: TAT Augmented Identity

There is now a face-recognition software available as an application for cell-phones - which mean I can point my phone at any pretty girl on the street or in the Subway/Métro and get her information and which social sites she is a member of directly in my phone - if this girl has a photo on some social site and has joined this service, that is!

Augmented Identity

A new app makes it possible to identify people and learn about them just by pointing your phone.

An application that lets users point a smart phone at a stranger and immediately learn about them premiered last Tuesday at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. Developed by The Astonishing Tribe (TAT), a Swedish mobile software and design firm, the prototype software combines computer vision, cloud computing, facial recognition, social networking, and augmented reality.

"It's taking social networking to the next level," says Dan Gärdenfors, head of user experience research at TAT. "We thought the idea of bridging the way people used to meet, in the real world, and the new Internet-based ways of congregating would be really interesting."

www.technologyreview.com...

Augmented Identity App Helps You Identify Strangers on the Street

By this point, we're all familiar with augmented reality, but Swedish mobile software firm The Astonishing Tribe is taking information overload to the next logical step: augmented identity.

Mashing up face recognition technology, computer vision, cloud computing, and augmented reality with the complex digital lives many of us lead on the Internet, TAT has created an app that allows you to gather information on a person and their social networking life simply by pointing your camera phone at their face.

Dubbed Recognizr, the app essentially works like this: the user points the camera at a person across the room.

Face recognition software creates a 3-D model of the person's mug and sends it across a server where it's matched with an identity in the database. A cloud server conducts the facial recognition since and sends back the subject's name as well as links to any social networking sites the person has provided access to.

The software even takes note of the position of the person's head within your field of view, popping up icon links to the subject's social sites around his or her head without obscuring the strikingly lovely features that caught your attention in the first place

Given the vast catalog of photos already posted to more social corners of the Web like Twitter and Facebook, the software opens up our social networks to some unique possibilities.

And though it may seem counter-intuitive, the face recognition aspect of this particular brand of AR apparently works better than some other apps that simply gather information on places or objects, because its easy for the software to figure out exactly what you want to search for -- the human face (as opposed to a particular building on a block with many other buildings, edifices, and other objects).

www.popsci.com...



TAT augmented ID


Recognizr



Cool and fantastic perhaps? but also kind of creepy!

In a not so distant future this software will be connected to public CCTV cameras as well.

So for obvious reasons I stay away from these kind social networking sites where a photo of your face can be found - I keep in contact with my friend by other means instead.

They will never find my face on the net!

Say hello to the next phase of Internet stalking - Hello!

[edit on 10-5-2010 by Chevalerous]

reply to post by SkepticOverlord


I like the "Conspiracy Book" idea because I have a pathological facination with human behaviour. I've never used face book and am not going to. I don't trust it, and I'm camera shy. A conspiracy that works is the ultimate mind game. The methods used to create ones that work, and ones that don't, say a lot about our perception of ourselves, and everything else. Personaly, I think conspiracies appeal to those who use them, and those who think their manipulated by them, because they feed a very basic need to "be in control of one's life" It also pi**** people off to say "I know something you don't know" Priceless.

If you do the first step, you also will do more steps.

It's just the time, we are living in. You want to be successful, and you can be successful, if you sell our souls.

Everybody does it. Why not ATS?

Because ATS is not everybody!

Originally posted by Chevalerous

They will never find my face on the net!

face.com...

Originally posted by schrodingers dog

Originally posted by Chevalerous

They will never find my face on the net!

face.com...

Wow!

Im glad I left FB.

Im kinda showing just how long ive been away from it probably.



[edit on 10-5-2010 by XXXN3O]

I would use TinBook too. I would still use facebook , just to keep in somewhat touch with those who are so not into this ATS stuff... but several FB friends are and a bunch of friends on myspace, but i dont think anyone even uses myspace anymore.

Tinbook, absolutely. I have a FB account, but it's disabled and it's going to stay disabled.

Tinbook sounds like a great alternative.

I would also prefer the 'Tinbook' version. I do have a facebook account, but that is for my family and sheeple friends. I would like to keep my 'alternative' friends seperated...

I use Facebook for family and friends only............with the exception of one member of ATS who requested me as a friend (which I did).

I have nothing to hide via my FB as all my family members and friends have known for years that I have an alternative thought to their's..

So hey!! easy but an ATS Bluebook would be SUPER COOL!




ATS rocks....................so does Car Crash Radio!

I used to have a facebook before I deactivated it. I deactivated it because I didn't like the set up and also due to privacy concerns.

I don't think I would use Tinbook. After seeing how the new ATS site will look like a few weeks ago I would rather use the new ATS site rather than Tinbook.

So, I vote against Tinbook.

I have a FB and if there was an ATS version I would LOVE it. I wouldn't abandon FB though, most of my FB friends are not ATSer's.

Originally posted by SkepticOverlord

Originally posted by manta78
knowing that the site uses Google Analytics which actually slow down the pages,

On what are you basing that statement?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh hail mighty leader! I assume your question is why I think GA
slows the pages down not the fact that you do use Google Analytics.
Because I have seen the message: "waiting for google analytics"
on more than one occasion after arriving at the site, and even got one warning from Norton that GA had launched a trojan. In each case the load time was several seconds longer. Note: In each of these cases it was when I arrived at the site, but had no desire to log in, merely view.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

and cookies are required,

Every site with a log-in requires cookies to manage sessions. This is not unusual... and there is nothing inherently wrong with cookies.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I understand the concept of cookies. Here's is one website you may want to review that clearly specifies some of the inherent problems with same, and privacy issues:

www.cookiecentral.com...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

one can not really expect that it is a "private" environment

Why are you making this statement? Have you reviewed our privacy policy?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
See my above response regarding cookies; although in my OP I was actually referring to the fact that nothing that is available on the internet is actually a "private" environment. The only way that
can be somewhat true is thru subscription based access. Even then it is only a matter of money.

Also here is one view of Google Analytics and Privacy:

"Google Analytics, due to its ubiquity, raises many privacy concerns. Whenever someone visits a website that uses Google Analytics, Google tracks that visit via the user's IP address. Because so many websites use Google Analytics, Google is able to track visitors across websites, theoretically giving Google a real-time view of the traffic on much of the web."

Source: en.wikipedia.org...

Also please review this analysis of abovetopsecret.com here which indicates problems with accessibility, privacy and website quality, with details of each one of those issues detailed.

Source: pagecheck.erigami.com...

Don't take it personally Skeptic Overlord. If I didn't care about the site, I wouldn't mention it, and you did specifically ask.

I actually deactivated my FB account this morning! It was depressing realizing that nearly everyone I'm friends with doesn't care for real global issues, and instead choose to spread a whole bunch of nonsense acting like toddlers. What's the deal with everyone trying to act like they're a kid, regardless of age? Mass denial?

As for an alternative social networking too, I'm all for it! Would love to chat about more personally with fellow conspiracy members here. I'd be all alone without sites like this.

I wouldn't be interested. I do have a facebook account to stay in touch with many friends and it is very unlikely that my friends and I would jump ship at this point. I don't know what the next big social networking website will be but I don't see it as a conspiracy related site. It will need to be more generic - something that appeals to the masses.

reply to post by manta78


That cookie central info is rather old, exceptionally alarmist, and significantly one sided in their error by omission of real-world information.

I've never seen the "waiting for..." message with respect to Google Analytics... But since the GA cookie is specific to the domain (abovetopsecret.com), it's difficult if not impossible to aggregate your web surfing history. Certainly some people unfamiliar with the capabilities of the core technology often speculate on what might be.... But in this case, what you describe is improbable.

Originally posted by SkepticOverlord
(SIDE NOTE: We've successfully tested methods whereby links to FB from ATS, and links from FB to ATS cannot be profiled and included in the data mining performed by FB.)

Care to specify what kind of links we're talking about here. FB logins? Ads? Like buttons perhaps?

Originally posted by schrodingers dog

Originally posted by Chevalerous

They will never find my face on the net!

face.com...

Yeah this is what I'm talking about S-Dog!

That's why I'm thankful that I never uploaded any photo on the net to be tagged and recognised with face-recognition software.

However! at some point in time, I'm convinced that some friends will upload a photo or something with my name tagged with the photo.

I have seriously warned my friends from doing so though!

I do not use Facebook and have no intention in ever using it. If ATS wants to implement a "Facebook for Conspiracy Theorists" go ahead and do it as long as it remains an option for the ATS member. But if you do implement such an option, I will not use it. As for me, I would get very upset if my postings and activities at ATS could be linked to my postings and activities on any other forum to which I belong unless I specifically intend for them to be linked. For example I belong to a couple of hobbyist boards. I do not want anyone here to know anything about my postings on those boards. And I do not want anybody on those boards to know anything about my postings here. Why - that guy who may be my best buddy on the hobbyist board could very well be my enemy here. Now you have me worried about having my email address in my information on ATS. As long as you can guarantee (or at least give a very reasonable assurance) that such information as email address, etc. which ATS has for those who wish NOT to use the a "Facebook for Conspiracy Theorists" goes no where other than ATS and is used only for official ATS business, then go ahead and implement the feature. I just won't use it.

reply to post by SkepticOverlord


Personally I could care less about cookies. I have a program that
removes them daily or upon request if ever desired. The Google Analytics program however is recording the ip address of each person who visits this site; that is of concern to some privacy advocates as posted earlier with source info, which is valid. As long as that is known to users of this site via a privacy policy, I see no problem with same.