Daily Links For 26.07.2010

Foursquare Growth: Two big questions : Online Social Media Data security and opt in user consent are some of the looming issues in geo-location and social networking. The data freely available through APIs such as Foursquare's is rather useful for monitoring relative popularity and activity over time, but granular level user data is where businesses are really going to harness the usefulness of the network. This data is going to require user consent (either tacitly or implied) and this is where the conversation about geolocation & privacy truly begins.

Government to tackle airbrushed ads For all the noise about regulating airbrushing in advertising, I think it is a really noble idea. That aside, aspirations are always going to be unreasonable and limiting marketing that utilizes these unreasonable (yet societally reinforced) goals addresses a manifestation of the problem, not the problem itself. Does advertising go to far in pushing an ideal, sometimes yes. However, the extreme cases of airbrushing etc. are regulated by societal outrage and the rest just represent what we have brought on ourselves for ideals. The answer to this problem isn't modifying advertising, but turning the mirror on individuals to empower themselves and create/push for healthy ideals.