One of the biggest concerns among visitors to Web sites is how their personal information is going to be used. This isn’t a new development; back in March of 2000, BusinessWeek did a cover story on Internet privacy, including a survey showing that the vast majority of users were either very or somewhat concerned about how their information would be used. The same cover story discussed how best to inform and reassure users. (You can see other such surveys, dating back to 1997, here.)
Unfortunately, while the number of businesses with Web sites has continued to expand, as has the sites’ sophistication, the level of disclosure of data practices has not significantly improved. True, most Web sites (especially business ones) have posted “privacy policies,” but too many simply copy language they’ve found on other Web sites. The problem? The borrowed language may describe the practices of the other site, but may not be correct when it comes to the new site using the policy, and when it comes to privacy policies, inaccuracy can be expensive.
The FreePint Family is a family of resources to help information workers be more effective, raise the value of information in their organisations and contribute to success.
'FreePint... provides most of my professional development because it won't come through work and [other resources] just don't cut it.'
FUMSI Forum: Do you have a research question? Post it to the FUMSI Forum, where professionals share Q&A and useful tips on how to Find, Use, Manage and Share Information. It's free.
FreePint Shop:
VIP LiveWire:
