Michelle Rodger: Big Brother can be your Facebook friend or your foe

Published on Wednesday 6 July 2011 17:21

THE summer holidays are upon us, and many will be enjoying an exotic beach break. We know the drill, "take only photographs, leave only footprints in the sand". It's a nice thought. But have you ever seriously considered your footprints?

Did you know that everything you do online, every keystroke on your laptop, every status update from your smartphone, leaves an indelible footprint?

Perhaps you did. But do you actually know what your digital footprint says about you? What it tells us about your business, your customers and employees? It paints a picture, writes history, and tells anyone who knows where to look, everything they need to know about you.

It's no longer the domain of the intelligence agencies and counter-terrorism organisations. Cyber profiling has become an everyday business occurrence.

There are all sorts of cyber profiling tools that track what you do online - the latest of which use machine learning and pattern matching to find good fits between companies and employees based on how they're spending their time on the computer. It can identify if someone is likely to be a great programmer based on how they behave online and the software they use. Patterns in efficiency, downtime and distracted time can even indicate that someone is bored in their job and is perhaps looking for a new one.

By the same token, it's possible to use cyber profiling to look at your existing employees and establish ways to better motivate them, or better control them, if that's more your thing.

If it all sounds a bit Big Brother, you'd be right. But you'd be foolish to ignore either the opportunities or the risks.

So what is your digital footprint? Simply, the internet stores all of your information online, so anything you write (comments, blogs, or updates) or upload (photos and videos) will be kept until that site goes down. A digital footprint can date back many years, and it's worth remembering that you are not always alone in creating your footprint. Your friends can tag pictures of you in Facebook or Flickr, or your customers can post reviews of your business online. All of this seemingly disconnected digital detritus can be pulled together by researchers and surprisingly detailed or insightful pictures formed.

The most important thing for people, but especially small businesses, to remember is that people can and will talk about you even if you don't have an online presence.

For Becks Armstrong, director of intelligence at Digital Mud, this is her life. Her job could easily pass for an episode of CSI or 24. Armstrong spends her days investigating footprints and traces of activity online and then producing reports for businesses and individuals.

Cyber profiling, says Armstrong, is potentially hugely useful to companies trying to improve or promote a brand. She has previously advised companies on ways to deal with potential reputation issues uncovered during cyber profiling. Armstrong says individuals need to be aware of their personal branding as it can potentially affect their job prospects, while for business the implications around finding new clients are clear.

"The way people approach recruitment is changing, Instead of passively looking for job ads, you can do a little research, find the businesses that you would most like to work for - for example one that has a great culture, treats its staff well and which could offer the exact job you want.

"From a business point of view, it is important to look at potential new employees to find out what they have said online about previous employers, if they have radical views on subjects that may not chime with the company philosophy or if they are going to be coming to work constantly hungover.

"You can also see if they have a good work ethic and how positive they are in their comments. It is easy to find out about their associations and even their reading level."

You wouldn't go on a date without Googling first, nor would you buy a house without having a look around it or getting a survey, explains Armstrong. And the same thinking applies in business - people will be checking you out before buying your services because it's simple due diligence to do research before interacting with any new business or employing someone.

It's so easy to find out information online that it would be a major oversight not to do at least a little research.