It’s Like Spammers Took Over Technology

Dave Winer, a pioneer behind blogging, podcasting and RSS, writes that he is not too happy with how some of the social networking apps for the iPhone and Twitter — and in general, the technology industry, intrude on the personal information of its users. He writes about his recent experience with the new social network on iPhone, Path, and how the app searched his phone’s address book to suggest some friends for him, even when it never seemed to have taken his permission to do so.

Winer goes on to compare their action with someone reading his credit card number aloud in the public and dubs the tech industry as a virus.

It’s like spammers took over technology, like the pet food guys did in 1999. Everyone has a scam. This year the scam is to grab all the user’s data and resell it. It’s gotten to the point where it’s a risky proposition to try out a new iPhone product.

Another example. When I realized that any random Twitter app who you give your credentials to can download all your private direct messages, that was the end of me using Twitter apps that want credentials. Meanwhile the team at Twitter Corp has always had access to this info. Who’s to say their interpretation of one of their terms of service is that they get to analyze and mine every bit of text I enter into the system even text that’s only meant for one other person to read?

Scripting: “The tech industry is a virus”

Image by SeeBeeW