During the holidays, I remember a news report from a local post office that the number of cards sent out by people was steadily declining. In years past, people would send holiday cards to friends and family so that everyone could "catch up" on what the person or family was doing over the past year. But with the creation and popularity of Facebook, the postal worker thought people had less reason to send out that annual update because Facebook (or FB) was already providing a detailed account of what they were doing on a monthly, weekly, daily, or sometimes even hourly basis!
Amazingly, it keeps getting easier to share information via social networks, i.e, "Bradley Hendrikson just checked in at Donohue McKenney Ltd. at 10:00 am on 3/11/11." Because of all the information that is shared on FB, privacy has been a hot topic over the past year. I am still trying to understand the privacy settings on FB. I thought I had set FB to share things only with my friends and family. I did a quick Google search, however, and I was surprised to find some of my FB information out there for the public to see, including my "likes" MN Vikings, MN Twins, U2, Brooks Running to Reebok Hockey.
Public information is just that - public. Once it's public, it does not matter if it's a failure of FB to have controls, or my fault for not using the controls or understanding how to use them. Once I have shared "what is on my mind" it can potentially reach the general public. As a person who likes his own privacy, I find FB information can be a bit scary given the risk it can reach beyond those I have "friended".
As a lawyer, however, I find it very interesting and most likely a tool all attorneys will consider to conduct their factual "due diligence" when working a case. For years, employers have used simple internet searches to learn basic public information on a potential hire. Now, the legal community is doing the same to obtain information relevant to a case. Mainly and ethically, this entails just checking out what is in the public viewing, not trying to trick someone into being a "friend" to gain information. I have posted recent articles on the subject below for those that would like to see how FB has been put to use, including for lawyers trying to select a jury (and for those jury members who understand these lawyers, posting an opinion that might get them out of jury service!)
At DM, we have experience selecting juries. Jury selection can be a complex and intense process, a process that has spurned other consulting businesses that help attorneys and clients "pick" a jury. We try to determine jurors that would be the most detrimental to a client's case. Google and FB might provide an edge or a crucial piece of information for free without much effort. Simply seeing what a person "likes" on FB might help better determine who that person really is.
FB is a fun way to stay in touch, but it can and is being used in many other ways, including in the legal community. I would urge my FBF to review their settings, and make sure they try to set them to their own comfort level. Personally, I am going to make a better effort to understand FB settings and keep in mind that this is a new era of social media and the definition of "friends" has different meanings.
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