Privacy...what's that?

During a recent online conference the question was raised whether the use of the institutional branding or logos on social media sites by individuals are permitted/managed. More specifically, how one should deal with the matter in the light that often abusive utterances could be made on social media platforms. Several suggestions were made ranging from educating learners around responsible use of the internet, to courses developing citizenship etc. While all these suggestions were good, it was not a solution and would definitely not prevent slanderous remarks being made. I guess the concern for these institutions of Higher Learning is the matter of bringing their name into disrepute by having their branding associated with "bad" publicity. Truth is that as an institution we have very little control over what is being said about us on the web. What we should be doing is to be pro-active and protect that which belongs to us i.e. our brands/logos to make sure that it is associated with the kinds of publicity we are looking for. The question that is raised where social media is concerned is where does our right as an institution infringe on the rights of the individuals freedom of speech, and vice versa.

Many of you may already be aware of it, but I have recently personally noticed how FB tracks my conversations on the social media site as it very quickly populated my screen with advertising related to a topic that I was discussing with friend. Another developer says that there are plans afoot to create a kind of shop-assistant environment for webpages, making it possible to get personal assistance through any web-page.While in some circles this may be welcomed in others there is the sense of being under constant surveilance. Is this method of scrutinizing individuals welcomed or seen more as an invasion of privacy? Or is the real question that if it is allowed in FB what other social media sites is also being used? At which point does one's web activities become a liability to finding a job? Does the possibility of being monitored on the WWW deter bad web etiquette (webiquette)? The following article http://www.iol.co.za/scitech/technology/internet/not-hired-but-fired-via-facebook-1.1349764#.UBWVjpFD61k pick up on this debate.