Think twice before you tweet
PleaseRobMe.com, a cheekily-titled website that lists "all those empty homes out there" has today become the subject of attention across much of the worldwide web.
The site, launched by Dutch computer science student Frank Groeneveld, aims to highlight the perils of sharing location details on social-networking services such as Foursquare, Brightkite, Google Buzz and Twitter.
Although web users are growing increasingly accustomed to sharing location data, PleaseRobMe suggests that letting people know where you are is dangerous "because it leaves one place you're definitely not... home".
In an effort to highlight the danger, the site essentially combines data from Foursquare and Twitter to create a simple-to-view list of potentially unoccupied homes. The creators of PleaseRobMe.com insist that their intention "is not, and never has been, to have people burglarised", but the controversial site clearly attempts to sensationalise its data by using terms such as "new opportunities" for "recent empty homes".
Using publicly-available data, it lists information that would be easily-discernible to a burglar, with one recent "opportunity" stating that a user "left home and checked in 2 minutes ago: I'm at Clapham Junction Station".
Representatives from Foursquare and Twitter have yet to comment on the site, but users of such services should note that Foursquare will not automatically make location data available to the public. In order for that to happen, users need to opt into having location details automatically tweeted to an attached Twitter account.
Despite coming across as a light-hearted stunt, the PleaseRobMe highlights the potential dangers of geolocational social networking services. The reasoning behind the site is described by its creators as follows:
Hey, do you have a Twitter account? Have you ever noticed those messages in which people tell you where they are? Pretty annoying, eh. Well, they're actually also potentially pretty dangerous. We're about to tell you why.
Don't get us wrong, we love the whole location-aware thing. The information is very interesting and can be used to create some pretty awesome applications. However, the way in which people are stimulated to participate in sharing this information, is less awesome. Services like Foresquare allow you to fulfil some primeval urge to colonise the planet. A part of that is letting everyone know you own that specific spot. You get to tell where you are and if you're there first, it's yours. O, and of course there's badges..
The danger is publicly telling people where you are. This is because it leaves one place you're definitely not... home. So here we are; on one end we're leaving lights on when we're going on a holiday, and on the other we're telling everybody on the internet we're not home. It gets even worse if you have "friends" who want to colonise your house. That means they have to enter your address, to tell everyone where they are. Your address.. on the internet.. Now you know what to do when people reach for their phone as soon as they enter your home. That's right, slap them across the face.
The goal of this website is to raise some awareness on this issue and have people think about how they use services like Foursquare, Brightkite, Google Buzz etc. Because all this site is, is a dressed up Twitter search page. Everybody can get this information.
Is PleaseRobMe.com likely to change the way in which you use social networking services? Share your thoughts in the HEXUS.community forums.
