So Were You Going to Keep THIS a Secret Too

Get ready for the next wave of privacy alarm over the launch of a Facebook/Ticketmaster alliance that will allow Ticketmaster customers to see who among their friends is already going to a concert or event.

The technology alliance will appear on the Ticketmaster website and allow customers to look at a map of the venue, complete with pips that show which of your Facebook friends have already purchased tickets (provided they opted to share the information).

The article in Fast Company describes the technology in greater detail. But rest assured that there will now be much hue and cry about the possible violation of privacy that this advance presents.

Your Silly Little Idea

Having lived in Silicon Valley for over a dozen years now, I've been the guest at an absurd little ego-drama on countless occasions.

The way it goes is that a friend has you over for dinner and can't wait to tell you about their new venture (partnership/tech startup/innovation) so they ask you if you'll sign a non-disclosure agreement to protect their new company. (The company by the way, usually has no DBA, no EID, no employees or money -- in fact it exists mostly as a chain of emails between friends and a few scribbled notes from a meeting at Barefoot Coffee Roasters. Oh yeah! And of course there IS that folder filled with DBAs signed by friends and family.)

Once the prophylactic paperwork is in order, you are served single malt scotch and appetizers as you are regaled with the details of the new venture. It turns out -- are you kidding me...

I'm not moving, I'm expanding my home...

...you're going to see the messages come more rapidly. People will say, I'm moving to Google+, goodbye Facebook. Or, I'm giving up Twitter and moving to use only Facebook.

It's like you have to renounce your citizenship in a country to speak the language in another!

Look, here's the thing...