Can a person still share personal information with friends but keep it private from professional contacts and strangers in the age of the internet?  Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, the most popular social networking site, doesn’t seem to think so.

In an interview with TechCrunch.com, Zuckerberg argues that users offering more personal info is the new “social norm” and that loosening privacy regulations is just a way to “reflect what the current social norms are.”

With blogs and social networking sites becoming a part of everyone’s daily life, new privacy challenges are evolving.   

One common-sense way to protect one’s privacy is just to refrain from sharing information publically that is sensitive.  Personally I use the grandma-boss test.  Would you be embarrassed if your grandma or boss saw what you posted?

However, even though it’s smart to be cautious about the public information you share, at Wired Wisconsin we believe that developers and providers must respect consumer privacy.  Privacy protections must develop alongside the progress of the internet which is why future thinking technology policies are essential.