Identity Squatting

This morning I heard that a mutual colleague and friend has had their name and likeness "borrowed" by someone for a twitter account and is posting items as "the fake - insert my friends name here -". The faker has not only used my friends full name but they have also posted a photo of my friend in the profile. The thing is that the only way users know that the tweeter is "the fake" is by opening the account profile and reading the description that says they are a fake. In other words, in the twitter stream anything posted by "the fake" can easily be considered as the real person tweeting.

Flattering as it may be that someone would choose to make themselves a "fake me" I find the whole concept creepy and dangerous. The fact that someone is posting things using my identity (with name and photo) to unwitting readers who do not know that it's not really me saying whatever was tweeted is not a happy thought at all.

Humorously, the whole thing reminds me of the great New Yorker cartoon "On the Internet Nobody knows you're a dog." Seriously, there is a very important lesson that I personally try to recall when I sign up for social things. I like to participate in social networks (and do) but I keep in mind that identity is more than digital credentials and that I tend to share less with people who's identity is more obscure to me. I've been working with people and have developed relationships - working and personal - via the Internet for over 20 years now and will continue to do so. But, as in face to face reality, I try to be discerning on who gets what access to my life and information.

This isn't a new problem per se, there have been famous cases of identity fraud online; consider the case of the cyber bullying mom on MySpace. However this is somewhat different. Here someone is saying they are a "fake" real person. It's like cyber-squatting only with a person's identity on a popular social network. It's hard to tell if "the fake" is trying to be malicious or not, it mostly seems like funny stuff. Despite that, things have been posted that my friend would never say and could compromise their reputation. It's new territory in socialization and how the social network providers will respond to these types of things. I'll keep you posted if I find out more or how this might resolve.

Steve Ballmer Maps Microsoft’s Cloud-y Future - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com

What's not to get - except for the hard to read handwriting?


A diagram, by Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s chief executive, of its cloud computing strategy (Saul Hansell/The New York Times)

It's actually two sides of a mirror mashed-up into one diagram; there is the cloud side and the on-premises side. For everything on-premise there is a matching service in the cloud. They are essentially the same but with different names and constraints. Evidenced by "Windows Server/Azure" and "SQLServer/Azure" in the diagram. Saul Hansell does a nice job of describing the picture in this article, although it would have been fun to see the order that each box was drawn. It sorta looks like Mr. Ballmer forgot to make a box for SharePoint, but then added as he was talking.

Accordingly, Ballmer admits that selling cloud-based services as a platform is a nascent market. I can agree that this selling model and market are new for Google, Microsoft and others, but cloud computing is not new for a long stretch. What is new is the method of selling platform services - like operating systems and enterprise solutions - in a more commercial fashion, with standardized bundles, service levels, and fixed costs.

The quote I find most interesting is when Mr. Ballmer said:

“We understand what the enterprise needs: Security, compliance, archiving.”

Good point, but I have to ask if security, compliance, and archiving are so important then why is Exchange still not using SQLServer as a back-end data store? Seems to make sense when you understand that security, compliance, and archiving are best served when you can apply global policies and searching across all the information generated by the different services.

Steve Ballmer Maps Microsoft’s Cloud-y Future - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com

As Jurors Turn to Web, Mistrials Are Popping Up - NYTimes.com

Interesting sign of the times.

The use of BlackBerrys and iPhones by jurors gathering and sending out information about cases is wreaking havoc on trials around the country, upending deliberations and infuriating judges.

Last spring I was dismissed from a jury selection panel for an intriguing criminal case that included police officers from 2 counties and 5 towns. It sounded big, like a car chase, and included firearms and gangs. You can be sure I was online that night trying to figure out what event the case was about. Amazingly I found nothing. Maybe that stuff is normal in LA and not newsworthy.

As Jurors Turn to Web, Mistrials Are Popping Up - NYTimes.com

A bigger Microsoft cloud

Since its announcement of the Software+Services strategy in 2006, Microsoft has been steadily refining and growing it's online offerings. Over the last two years Microsoft has unveiled it's strategy at regular intervals. Thus far we've been taken from the S+S strategy in the summer of 2006 through the general availability of US-based consumer and business grade hosted messaging, communications, and collaboration services in November 2008. Last week Microsoft's cloud got bigger with the general availability of worldwide Microsoft Online Services for any sized company. According to Microsoft's press release:

...the Business Productivity Online Suite, part of Microsoft Online Services, is now available for trial to businesses of all sizes in 19 countries. In addition, Microsoft will release Microsoft Office Communications Online, for instant messaging and presence, and the Business Productivity Online Deskless Worker Suite, an extremely economical e-mail, calendaring and collaboration service for the occasional user.

This steady cloud formation is formidable and steps up the competition in the emerging cloud-based platforms market. There's lots of ground that still needs to be covered, especially when it comes to supporting enterprises, however. Microsoft is still not likely to suck the air out of the enterprise hosting room until it can make the entire platform (e.g., messaging plus all of its supporting services) affordable and secure. Cheap mailbox services are a good selling point but enterprises tend to look at (and need) more than just better mailbox service costs. The cloud maturity model looks more complex than one-stop shopping solutions when you get to the enterprise. Flexibility, adaptability, and risk mitigation are the keys to enterprise hearts. The cloud is still too squishy and moist for many.


Microsoft Online Services Available Worldwide: Microsoft signs agreement with GlaxoSmithKline to deploy Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Office Communications Online and Office Live Meeting for employees worldwide.

The Broadband Gap: Why Is Theirs Faster? - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com

I can't wait for the follow-on articles. This is an interesting assessment of the state of Broadband in the US as compared to the rest of the developed world.

I don’t know about manners, but it’s easy to find examples that American’s broadband is second-rate:

In Japan, broadband service running at 150 megabits per second (Mbps) costs $60 a month. The fastest service available now in the United States is 50 Mbps at a price of $90 to $150 a month.

In London, $9 a month buys 8 Mbps service. In New York, broadband starts at $20 per month, for 1 Mbps.

In Iceland, 83 percent of the households are connected to broadband. In the United States, the adoption rate is 59 percent.

The article points out that we're not so bad, but it can be much better. Considering our current economic status, globalization, and changing communications needs, I agree with President Obama's assessment of how important broadband is to the US:

President Obama campaigned on a promise of fast broadband service for all. On the White House Web site, he writes “America should lead the world in broadband penetration and Internet access.” And the recent stimulus bill requires the Federal Communications Commission to create a national broadband plan in order to make high-speed Internet service both more available and more affordable.

It's a good vision that runs the risk of be thwarted by politics, stingy providers, and lobbyists if unchecked. Clay Shirky's book "Here comes Everybody" demonstrates the revolutionary effect of how the Internet (and the broadband that gets us there) lowers barriers to group interaction. Now more than ever it's time to consider how the nation will establish better channels for communications and not get left behind.

The Broadband Gap: Why Is Theirs Faster? - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com