Should companies be allowed to eavesdrop onto social networks to use a new form of behavioral targeting ?

[Jake Tolcacher]

Should companies be able to eavesdrop onto social networks like Facebook or LinkedIn to look at posts and target there marketing onto peoples opinions. Is this an invasion of privacy or a good way to collect information

[Andrew]

That's an invasion of privacy

[lisa w]

To an extent - afterall, that's how companies communicate w/ customers. Should they go on YOUR personal page and see what you're doing - probably not, and probably won't - too much time and too little return.

Should they have their own FB or twitter sites? Yes, and they should utilize them properly and daily to interact with customers. This is how companies learn what their customers like or dislike, or need or want, to create better products and customer experiences.

Besides a SOCIAL networking site on the WORLD WIDE web is hardly private. It's not a diary, they aren't reading your mail or tapping your phone - they are reading something that the customer chose to broadcast to the world. Privacy settings may do some to limit that, but in reality, privacy settings only give the illusion of privacy. The internet and all of its sites are very public. That's why it's so important to be careful of what we post - future employers, mates, etc are looking at it all too....