A new "generation" of social networking services, already familiar with popularity, seeks to overturn the two main pillars on which social media has been based for decades - the use of real membership and the unlimited lifetime of their hangings.
In the form of applications for "smart" devices, a portion of these applications allow their users to communicate completely anonymously. Other services allow the exchange of content that "self-destructs" after a few minutes. Thus, they ensure that there is no chance of being exposed by a photo or comment that has "upgraded" perhaps even several years ago, and on the way he forgot to delete.
The two pillars were essentially created by Facebook, which became synonymous with social networking over the past decade. At the same time, however, it has become the most prominent example of the fact that "everything that goes on the Internet stays online forever", having negative side effects in real life, since the network forces its members to use their real name.
Although until recently these two features were non-negotiable for Mark Zuckerberg, in recent statements he left open the possibility of anonymous use in future applications of the platform. Also, Snapchat's takeover attempt, a photo social network where images are automatically deleted, shows that Facebook sees that the growing personal exposure to social media (the so-called oversharing) is not ultimately a rogue rule.
According to Tarun Wadhwa from Forbes magazine, the change in navigation is due to the increasing appeal of applications of "self-destructive" messages. Snapchat, of course, is mainly used by adolescents for sexting, that is, for the exchange of sexy photos that has become a dangerous fashion, since it is not absolutely certain that images will be lost irreversibly. However, the author adds, the logic of automatically deleted content exchange has begun to win older people, or even businesses, as a measure to protect their privacy.
Εξάλλου, application σαν τις Textsecure, Wickr, Confide, Gryphn και Telegram Messenger φροντίζουν παράλληλα ώστε το περιεχόμενο να διακινείται κρυπτογραφημένο, με αποτέλεσμα μόνο ο αποστολέας και ο παραλήπτης να έχουν πρόσβαση σε αυτό. Μάλιστα, η κρυπτογράφηση και η δυνατότητα επιλογής του χρόνου που θα διαγραφούν τα μηνύματα φαίνεται να είναι οι λόγοι που στις 24 Φεβρουαρίου, μέσα σε ένα 24ωρο, το Telegram Messenger απέκτησε 4,95 εκατομμύρια νέους χρήστες – πολλοί από τους οποίους προέρχονταν από την service WhatsApp which had just been acquired by Facebook.
The same functions are offered by Wickr, which in early January announced that it would offer $100.000 to any hacker who finds a "backdoor" in its software. Wickr can also transfer text files, photos or videos, unlike Confide, which specializes in text messages, as it is aimed at business executives who want their communication to leave no "digital footprint". Against base for enterprise use there is also Gryphn, which is only available for Android devices.
On the other hand, applications such as Whisper or Secret promise to return to anonymity, which was the norm before Facebook came in, and according to Wired Magazine, 2014 will be one of the dominant trends in social media. Their creators admit that Facebook's branding made social networking safer and its members accountable for what they are uploading online. But at the expense of self-censorship and lack of authenticity, they point out, as each user creates his "digital self" as he would want to be, and not as he is.
So, Whisper works like an online community where anyone can anonymously think of any thought, having attracted millions of users in their lifetime, who each month see over 3 billions of pages. The Secret was released a month ago and, unlike the Whisper, allows iPhone and Android device owners to share "secrets" only with their phone book contacts, but they are hiding their identity.
Worry
The growing concern about protecting privacy is not limited to social networking, but in fact concerns all uses of the Internet: according to a recent Ericcson survey in a fairly heterogeneous set of countries (USA, Mexico, Sweden, Egypt, Pakistan and Thailand ), 56% of people who "surf" every day express reservations about the "luck" of their personal data. Data that, in addition to the Internet services to which they are assigned using them, is also targeted at secret services.
At the same time, however, only 4% of the survey participants stated that for this reason they have decided to use the Internet less, with 93% favoring more careful online behavior as a solution, as well as technologies which reduce the risk. A percentage that explains why services that emphasize privacy protection have been gaining ground recently. An illustrative case is the "search engine" DuckDuckGo, which does not record user activity and saw its traffic double in recent months, reaching 4,4 billion daily searches at the beginning of January, a record number for its history.
Online is also gaining ground tools that enable anonymous surfing (such as Tor software or virtual private networks). In fact, in June the first smartphone developed from the beginning for this purpose will be released. Named Blackphone, Cilent Circle's phone will incorporate a modified version of Android and the encryption services it has developed.
Source: kathimerini.gr
