A lot has been written about the “danger” social media poses to companies and brands, but what about the real threat it poses to us as individuals?

Immediate, transparent, global, free communication is one of the most breathtaking information advances since the telephone. But when there is an opportunity for human corruption, there probably WILL be human corruption. Here are the biggest threats posed by the advent of social media:

Risk to personal security. For fun, I follow a few celebrities on Twitter, the digital Post-it note. The other day, one of them tweeted: “Down at Gino’s having a pizza with my boys.” Earlier in the day he had established the city he was in. With this kind of shoot-from-the-hip public broadcasting, it’s only a matter of time before we see the first Twitter-related crimes. Even for non-celebrities, how safe is it to post to the world, “My husband and I are off to Boston for the Web 3.0 conference.” Not very … unless you want your next post to be “Our house got wiped out by crooks while we were away!”

Risk to personal finances. Every time you register for a site, sign up for an app, or populate a social media profile, you are adding to a databank all about you. Strangers can find names, birth dates, family members, school and work history, e-mail addresses and much more. One blog writer recently quipped, “Honestly, it doesn’t take a genius to steal a person’s identity online.” Even more severe than identity theft and the obvious financial ramifications for an individual — we will begin to see online crimes being committed under the alias of another person.

Risk to personal reputation. Thankfully, nobody was holding a video camera in my face during my college years. But the lives of today’s youth are explicitly documented on You Tube, blogs, photo albums, and social media sites, creating a permanent online record. One corporate recruiter told me that a web search is more important to him than a resume. How will your Google-image affect your future job prospects, personal relationships, political aspirations? Did you read about the teen girls who took pictures of themselves in their bras at a sleepover, texted them to friends and then hours later ended up on porn sites? How do you erase something like that? Google never forgets.

Risk to data and information. A few weeks ago, a computer worm, using Twitter, infected tens of thousands of computers as it replicated itself across the Internet. The worm was created by a 17-year-old to “expose the vulnerabilities” in Twitter. The red-hot social networking/microblogging service has been scrambling to plug cross-site scripting and other Web site vulnerabilities to thwart worm attacks but, as one researcher points out, it’s much easier to misuse the Twitter API as a “weak link” to send worms squirming through Twitter.

Risk to personal health. Neurologists and doctors warn that obsessive immersion in screen technologies and social network sites will lead to short attention spans, sensationalism, inability to empathize, weight gain, and a tenuous sense of identity.

Risk to personal productivity. A friend recently told me that he needed to find a way to block himself from social media sites at work. “I’m hooked,” he said. “I can’t stop myself from getting online every minute that I can.” According to a U.K. study, British firms are losing $264 million A DAY on lost productivity due to undercover activities on Facebook. Businesses are starting to look for ways to deal with the social networking problem. Several companies in America already block social media sites.

So, where does this lead?
I’m a fan of social media. These new platforms have connected me to countless interesting people, opportunities and ideas. The purpose of this article is to serve as a counter-point to those who seem to be hypnotized by the hyperbole and beat the drum of social media while ignoring these certain consequences. There is virtually NO dialogue on the risks of the inevitable corruption that will result from having a free and pervasive window into YOUR life.

I’m hoping the dialogue will start now …

Myth number two: “It’s all about the engagement.”  

Myth number three: “Never sell.”

Myth number five: “Social media is all about authenticity”

REALLY?

I dissected his follower list (public information) and estimated HALF were “trash,” meaning they were spam-generated, get-rich quick spammers, or porn. Those followers are not going to be effective in receiving or re-transmitting any message of “influence.” So that brings us down to 40,000 potentially effective followers in TK’s community.

Harvard released a study this month showing that among the people who don’t quit, the median number of lifetime tweets is one. I think it’s reasonable to define an “active user” as somebody who tweets at least once a day (less than 15%). Applying that reasonable logic, the number of ACTIVE users this media mogul brags about is actually 4,060.

I’m taking some time off and I’m not one of those super hero types who blog when they are on vacation. I am spending time with my family, not the computer.

However, I’ve set-up some of my favorite blog posts from the past for you to view while I’m gone. If you’re new to {grow} I think you’ll enjoy them and if you’re familiar with the blog, well … you’ll probably be bored quite frankly, but I’m doing my best : )  See ya soon!

The big BlogWorld Expo was this week in Las Vegas and I was anxious to learn as much as I could about what was going on out there. 

One of the outputs was the above image.  It’s supposed to tell us what conversations are going on and the relationships between the keywords.  I’m tiring of these ridiculous graphics.  Am I supposed to oooh and aaah that this graphically depicts that “Vegas” and “blogger” were the two key terms from this conference?  What insight does this chart really provide? And yet, I see more and more meaningless stuff like this every day.

I’ve been spending time studying the trends in social media monitoring and have been impressed with the rapid progress.  But there is still a lot of noise like this chart that really tells us nothing.  The fact is, the most meaningful keyword and sentiment analysis is all still being done MANUALLY. 

For all the social media “listening” we’re supposed to be doing, we had better come up with better ways to show our company managment what’s going on.

The {grow} community is our little cyber salon where we can hang out, get to know each other, and hash out some issues together.  I also like to extend a hand and help readers where I can, and I hope you will, too.

Jamie Wallace (@suddenlyjamie) has been an important contributor to {grow} as a guest blogger and commenter. You might recall an article she wrote, “Why measuring social media ROI is like being a great bartender” which became  an Internet sensation!

She’s trying to secure a position as a blogger with NatureMade Vitamin Company and part of that process is an online voting competition. Let’s call it what it is: a vitamin-infused publicity stunt, and probably a good one!  She has to be one of the top 20 vote-getters to be considered for the job.

In any event, Jamie passionately wants this job and YOU have a chance to help her get it by voting for her.  That’s right. You can help one of our community members get a job!  Click here to help:  http://mygoodmoodgigcampaign.wordpress.com/whats-in-it-for-you/

This is a chance to support Jamie and thank her for her contributions in this space. Thanks for making this community AMAZING by helping each other when we need it!

P.S.  Tweeting this article will help Jamie, too.

P.P.S.  Isn’t “The Jungle Book” a great movie?  I think it was the first film I ever saw in a theater.

One of the points that differentiates me from other bloggers:  I’m old enough to remember when Microsoft was cool. They were the college drop-out geeks who conquered the world.  Then David turned into Goliath. And nobody likes Goliath.

But I just get this sense that Microsoft is recaputuring its mojo. Let’s see if you agree.

1) Those ads.  As a marketer, I loved the ninja move they put on Apple.  Apple’s ad campaign famously defined their competitor as a pasty-faced, clunky slug.  Instead of fighting this deeply embedded image, Microsoft incorporated it into its own ads and flipped the “Apple cart” by highlighting the breadth and depth of the Microsoft user base.  This was simply inspired marketing.

2)  Real service.  The last time I went to an Apple Store with a technical problem, they said “no.”  I never encountered that as a service option before or since.  They would not fix my product and would not even recommend somebody who could.  The only option was “you’ll have to buy a new one.”

I have had enough hair-pulling customer service disasters from both companies to make me repulsed by the thought of a service call. But my last experience with Microsoft was very different.  I got a live person on the first ring, which left me momentarily paralyzed.  The India-based technical leader took control of my computer and solved a debilitating problem in 10 minutes.  But when he sent me back to customer service for a refund on a purchase, I hit a stone wall. The technical leader, who had not abandoned the call, jumped in and asked if I could be put on hold while he addressed the problem. Thirty seconds later he came back on and explained that my money had been refunded.  I was impressed that the technician took accountability for the entire customer service experience and had enough authority to do the right thing on the spot. Well done.

3) The Bing Thing.  The best companies constantly re-invent themselves with Madonna-like regularlity.  But Bing out-Googled Google by upping the ante on search performance features. Consumers rewarded Microsoft’s  innovation by moving to Bing in droves. It’s no easy feat to grab share from a famous and entrenched market leader. Google will respond. Microsoft’s aggressive and innovative market entry will speed the evolution of the platform and benefit us all.

In a few days, Microsoft will release their latest operating system evolution.  Here’s hoping the Big Guy stays on a roll.  We need that.

I decided it would be fun to feature some of the great people of the {grow} community from time to time. You’ll probably recognize the name Kimmo Linkama as a regular contributor who has distinguished himself with his insights and perspective.

Ever since I connected with Kimmo there have been two things on my mind:  How did he get such a cool name and what’s it like to work in social media in Estonia. So I decided to ask him … and share it with you!

Mark:  How has your career path led you to your interest in social media?

Kimmo: I’ve had the good fortune to see marketing communications from all sides. I’ve worked on the agency side and the client side, in advertising and in PR, and have had assignments with both national and international audiences. Finnish marketing communications works on pretty much the same principles as in the US, so now that social media is clearly becoming the next “big thing” in marketing, especially in my B2B niche, I need to know what’s happening and what are the best strategies.

Mark: And how’s business in Estonia?

Kimmo: Let me first give you a little background. I’m originally from Finland and moved to Estonia about four and a half years ago.  Business is difficult in Estonia, especially with the recession, and I still work almost 100% for Finnish clients.

Europe, in comparison with the US, is extremely fragmented. There are 50 countries and 230 languages (although the official European Union languages only number 23). Estonia, where I live, has a population of 1.3m, about the same as Philadelphia. Finland’s population is 5.3m, a little more than Los Angeles and is the most sparsely populated country in the European Union.

From where I live, Otepää in south Estonia, it is only some 160 miles “as the crow flies” to Helsinki, Finland, where most of my clients are located – although there’s a two-hour boat trip across the Gulf of Finland in-between.

Mark:  Sometimes I feel like the social media trend swamped marketers here in the U.S. and we’re still recovering. You are in a unique position of being able to watch for what is happening in the rest of the world BEFORE it hits your region and your customers. How does that help you or hurt you?

Kimmo: It definitely helps.  Although most ideas that are taking off in the U.S. reach even my remote corner of Europe very quickly, there’s still a slight delay.  That’s why I am – as you said – in a unique position to get on board a little before a new trend becomes mainstream here. The benefit, of course, is that I’m able to get some hands-on experience in social media, so when it begins to really catch on as a marketing ideology, I will know better what I’m talking about and be able to help my clients in a relevant way.

Mark: What social media platforms are being used in Eastern Europe?  Are entrepreneurs developing regional-specific platforms or are you seeing global apps like Twitter take off?

Kimmo: We have the whole spectrum: blogs, forums, chats, microblogging.  There are regional-specific platforms, but on the whole I think the global applications have so much critical mass that they will eventually come to dominate. For example, the development of the Finnish Jaiku microblogging app, roughly similar to FriendFeed, began almost concurrently with Twitter. When Google bought Jaiku a couple of years ago, it has gradually stagnated, and now a new development, called Qaiku, is trying to take its place. I have my doubts about the chances of survival of these regional developments against the big globals, though. It is more probable that a bigger player will buy them in the end.

Mark: What is social media adoption like in your region? Is it being used for business? What are the hurdles?

Kimmo: Finns have always been pretty tech-savvy. Blogs are proliferating, and Facebook is very popular. A fair number of companies have adopted blogging as one of the ways to get their message out, but for example Facebook seems to be mostly for personal-type contacts. I haven’t yet seen many serious attempts at business use, although some companies do have a Facebook presence. The company pages, however, seem to be mostly of the press release type, publishing company news rather than encouraging dialogue.

Microblogging is done more by individuals; so even if they are clearly associated with their employers, the messages mostly have a personal point of view. I think the biggest hurdle for wider business adoption – if we rule out lack of knowledge – is exactly the same as everywhere else: businesses are so used to traditional push marketing that the idea of losing control of the message is frightening. It takes time to alleviate this fear, but as the trend grows stronger, everyone will have to go with it one way or another.

I also don’t know how many agencies really know how to go about this “new way of marketing” when it comes to recommending the best ways to their clients. I’m hoping my social media experiments, if you will, enable me to fill that void for my part.

Mark: Kimmo, you have such a cool name. Is it a family name or just a common name in your homeland of Finland? 

Kimmo:  Thanks for the compliment! Kimmo is not a very common first name.  I looked it up and there are about 18,000 men with that name. Its roots are sometimes traced back to the Greek St. Evdokimos, but I don’t know how scientific this is.

Feel free to ask Kimmo additional questions in the comment section …

In addition to his contributions to the {grow} community, Kimmo’s blog, “Marketing Communicator” can be found at: http://linkama.wordpress.com/