|
|
Callum Haywood – An Interview With The Brain Behind “We Know What You’re Doing” |
Callum Haywood – An Interview With The Brain Behind “We Know What You’re Doing” Posted: 05 Jul 2012 05:02 AM PDT According to Facebook, users upload more than 300 million photos, generate over 3.2 billion ‘likes’/'comments’, and have 526 million active users on average per day. But do we stop to think about where our information is being shared and what happens after an image or a post has been uploaded? To show users just how easy it is to access user's status updates and share it to the world, 18 year old Callum Haywood set up a website called ‘We Know What You’re Doing‘, pulling public status updates via Facebook’s Graph API that contain references to hating your boss, getting drunk, using drugs and changes to your personal phone numbers. The site created a massive media stir with questions being asked once again about online safety on social networks. We caught up with Callum to find out more about the man behind the website, and to ask what inspired him to set up the site as well as what users can do to ensure online safety. Hey Callum, firstly, congratulations on your experiment, it's gotten you worldwide recognition; did you ever envision that this project would get you this much media attention? Thank you, I had never envisioned that the site would get anywhere close to the number of visitors it has had in its entire online life. I had certainly not expected the media to pick up on it. Could you tell us a little bit about your career background and how and when you got into coding and web development? I’ve recently finished my A level studies, and will be starting university later this year. I started coding when I was about 13 years old, just learning basic HTML out of an old book. I then got into web design using CSS, and this lead me onto PHP which is what the site is written in. What inspired you to set up "We know what you're doing?" Two things inspired me. First was Tom Scott’s video “I Know What You Did Five Minutes Ago” in which he demonstrates, using live data, the amount of personal information that people put online. Secondly is the simplicity in which this information can be obtained; within a few lines of code you can query Facebook’s Graph API for public posts and output them.
Do you think employers ought to take things employees write on Facebook (and other social media sites) seriously? And as such, could posts on your website be used as grounds for dismissal? What are your thoughts? People have lost their jobs in the past because of what they put on Facebook. My site isn’t intended to get anyone in trouble, but people need to be aware that their employers can see this information if it is public, and that it is up to the employer to decide how they go about dealing with it. How can users protect themselves from their posts being pulled via Facebook's social graph? The easiest way to ensure that you are protected is to go on Facebook, click the drop down arrow at the top right of the page, next to the home button, select ‘Privacy Settings’ and under ‘Control Your Default Privacy’, make sure it is set to either ‘Friends’ or ‘Custom’. Caution should always be taken when posting anything online, because someone on your friends list may pass this on to someone else, and you could get into trouble that way too. Is there an upside to this? Can information and posts gathered via Facebook's API be used for "good" purposes? Since you can access all public posts through the API, there are a lot of good posts, which can be put to good use. A follow-up on the last question; how can a website owner, or a business owner benefit from pulling in information via Facebook's API? Businesses can use the API data to see what people are saying about their brands or products, for example. This information could be very useful for businesses to analyse, and also very cost effective. Why did you choose drugs, alcohol, slagging off your boss, and new phone numbers as your categories for the experiment? I chose those categories because they typically give interesting results. If the categories were boring it wouldn’t shock people, which is what the site is designed to do. Hopefully people who have seen it think twice about the information they share online and who can access it. Looking ahead, how do you think online privacy will be shaped? In the future I think people will need to go to extraordinary lengths to protect their privacy online. If you are serious about online privacy, then social networks are not the ideal place to be hanging out. What do you think Facebook should do? Are they doing enough to keep their users safe? Facebook’s privacy controls are very good when they are used correctly, but I also think they have a responsibility to let users know that their posts are public, for example a message to confirm whether they want to post, because it can be seen by anyone and shared via the API too. Have you ever thought of trying your hand at SEO? I have not really gone into depth with SEO before. My friend who works as an SEO programmer suggested that I add in the Facebook and Twitter buttons (which really helped get the site known) and also to optimise the title tags, as well as the meta data. You say on your site that in order to be a decent developer, you need to develop a logical mind. If there were 5 skills necessary to work for you what would they be? If someone was going to work for me I would want them to be a good problem solver, logical thinker, have an analytical mind, be focused, and be able to understand the technical aspects in great depth. Has age ever been an issue when dealing with clients? Fortunately not, age has never been a problem when dealing with clients, which is a good thing. Even when freelancing, the people I have met never had a problem with someone my age (or younger before I was 18) completing the work for them. How do you manage your time with school, work and a social life? In order to manage my time I created a personal planner, which contains 7 columns, one for each day of the week, and is divided into hourly slots. I print one of these off when I have a particularly busy week and fill it in. At the bottom there is a section for other tasks that need doing and other notes. How are you dealing with your new found fame? How many six figure job offers have you received so far? :-) Haha I haven’t received any job offers, however before I launched the site I was looking for summer jobs just so I can earn money before university. I can now postpone that search, and also deal with any freelance work requests that come my way. Yesterday, you launched a search function to your site, what made you open it to the public? I created it so people could enter their own queries and see what interesting posts they can find, as well as just the default questions that are asked on the homepage. Since it went live, there have already been a lot of requests, although the site only logs the quantity of requests, not the actual query or responses. Finally, what plans do you have for the future? What other projects have you got in the pipeline and where do you see yourself in 5 years from now? I have a few ideas but they are at an early stage, so can’t promise anything. In 5 years time I would like to see myself running my own business using the internet. © SEOptimise - Download our free business guide to blogging whitepaper and sign-up for the SEOptimise monthly newsletter. Callum Haywood – An Interview With The Brain Behind “We Know What You’re Doing” Related posts: |
You are subscribed to email updates from SEOptimise » blog To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 |
"I don't want to belong to any club that will accept people like me as a member..." That's the (Groucho) Marxist credo.
You're invited to speak your mind online. To post thoughtful comments and tweets and posts. You're given a place where you can post your music, or your art or your photography or your take on the state of your industry...
Most of us refuse. We don't want to be part of a community that would have us, apparently. So we sit quietly and watch and take notes and absorb instead of joining the club of contributors.
Retweets are more common than tweets, and listeners are more common than singers.
Because we believe we don't belong. That we're not qualified. That someone with a louder microphone is better than we are.
Past tense perhaps.
Here's the thing: the number of people contributing is going up, and fast. The number of folks that are happy to speak up, to be a member of the contributing group, is as high as it's ever been.
Yes, we'd like to have even you as a member. Really.
[You're getting this note because you subscribed to Seth Godin's blog.]
Don't want to get this email anymore? Click the link below to unsubscribe.
Your requested content delivery powered by FeedBlitz, LLC, 9 Thoreau Way, Sudbury, MA 01776, USA. +1.978.776.9498 |
Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis |
German Central Bank Head Warns Merkel on Repeated Weakening of Positions; Third Front Against Merkel Posted: 05 Jul 2012 10:32 PM PDT Chancellor Angela Merkel is now under pressure from a third front, this time, from Jens Weidmann, president of the Bundesbank (Germany's Central Bank). The Financial Times reports Weidmann warns Merkel over weakening Germany's top central banker has criticised the decisions of last week's summit to help debt-laden eurozone members, warning that the bloc was "constantly mutualising risks and weakening the agreed rules".Third Front This pressure from the central bank represents a third front against Merkel. The ESM is already on hold waiting challenges from Germany's constitutional court. (see German Supreme Court Delays ESM; Another Setback for Merkel; Creeping Bailouts; Reflections on German Expectations for details) Moreover, Merkel's Coalition About to Splinter Over Creation of "European Monster State". Simply put, the CSU (Merkel's coalition partner), has threatened to sink the Coalition if Merkel gives any more ground. In all likelihood, this is close to if not the absolute end of the line for further Merkel concessions. The irony regarding the latest wave of attacks is Merkel gave nothing to France and next to nothing to Italy and Spain in the 19th eurozone summit. For details, please see EU Summit Winner Was Merkel. Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific. |
Japan Composite PMI Contracts; China Composite PMI Stagnates Posted: 05 Jul 2012 04:13 PM PDT The contraction hit parade keeps humming along. Japan Composite data show first fall in business activity since November 2011 Business activity in Japan's service sector decreased for a second successive month during June, as new order growth remained muted.China Composite PMI Stagnates Markit China Services PMI Activity Growth Eases to Near-Stagnation in June Key pointsMike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific. |
Posted: 05 Jul 2012 01:07 PM PDT PMI reports from Europe continue to show severe signs of stress. Yesterday, Markit reported Eurozone PMI rises in June but still signals steep rate of contraction Key points for JuneKey Phrase: "The survey points to the economy having contracted by approximately 0.6% in the three months to June." German Construction Activity Plummets 3rd Month A Markit report out today reveals a solid reduction in German construction activity The seasonally adjusted Germany Construction Purchasing Managers' Index® (PMI®) – a single-figure snapshot of overall activity in the construction economy – edged up from May's reading of 44.7 to 46.0 in June, signalling a further, albeit slightly slower, decrease in overall building activity across Germany. Construction activity in the Eurozone's largest economy has now fallen for three consecutive months.Once again this is as I expected and I still expect things to get much worse, including Germany. In response to eurozone weakness, the ECB cut rates to .75%, a record low amount, but it will not help one bit. Please see Global Uncoordinated Panic; Bond Market Response Was "Not Enough"; Words "Heightened Uncertainty" Explained for details. Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific. |
Posted: 05 Jul 2012 10:50 AM PDT Record Number of Homes for Sale in Melbourne Given the alleged housing shortage in Australia, it is interesting to note a Record number of houses for sale in Melbourne In June, Melbourne's residential listings grew at a monthly rate of 6.1 per cent - almost four times the national average - and recorded a yearly jump of 27.7 per cent, more than 27 times Sydney's annual growth of 1 per cent.Nothing like building more houses to add to record supply. Sub-Prime Collapse The Australian reports Provident implosion exposes low-doc risks THE $130 million collapse of subprime lender Provident Capital has highlighted the emerging problems in the nation's low-doc and no-doc lending markets, which flourished during the years of the last property boom.What "Can't" Happen, Is Happening We have been told countless times that such scenarios could not happen in Australia. Well, clearly they could, because they are happening right now. Moreover, this is just the tip of the debtberg. Expect conditions to get much worse. Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific. |
Posted: 05 Jul 2012 08:25 AM PDT Global Uncoordinated Panic In a 45-Minute Salvo today, the ECB cuts rates to a record low 0.75 percent and reduced the deposit rate to zero. Meanwhile, the People's Bank of China cut their benchmark borrowing costs (the second time in a month), and the Bank of England raised the size of its asset-purchase program. Also note the central banks of Australia, the Czech Republic, Kazakhstan, Vietnam and Israel cut rates in June, while the Swiss National Bank is buying euros to defend its franc ceiling. ECB president Mario Draghi said these events were not global coordinated easing. I am willing to take him for his word. Thus, it's safe to assume that what has transpired was more akin to global uncoordinated panic. European Bond Market Response Was "Not Enough" The market response to this 45-minute volley of coordinated easing was "not enough". One look at the bond market in Italy and Spain makes that point crystal clear. Spain 10-Year Government Bond Yield Italy 10-Year Government Bond Yield Certainty vs. Uncertainty Bloomberg reports ECB President Mario Draghi said "heightened uncertainty" was weighing on confidence. Draghi also said the council didn't discuss other non-standard tools. Clearly the market wanted "non-standard" tools such as more direct bond purchases. However, bond purchases are viewed by Germany as "monetary financing of government". Nonetheless, the ECB has done them before, over strenuous objections from the German central bank. It is 100% certain Europe is in a recession and that recession will strengthen. It is also 100% certain the 19th summit solved nothing. So what is with all this talk about "heightened uncertainty"? Meaning of Heightened Uncertainty The words "heightened uncertainty" can be reasonably translated as "The economy is going to hell in a hand basket and we have no idea what to do about it". Since the ECB and government officials cannot say that, nor can they says they are out of policy tools, they simply moan about "heightened uncertainty". Certainly they are uncertain about what to do, primarily because the problem at hand is not fixable. Fed Uncertainty Principle Now would be a good time to review the Fed Uncertainty Principle, especially corollaries one and two. Corollary Number One:What I said about the Fed apples to central banks in general. Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific. |
You are subscribed to email updates from Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 |