Aliens are feeding them information. I know it.

I have a profile on LinkedIn, although I'm not sure why.  When I first read about it a few months ago I was curious and wanted to look around... and, of course, it wouldn't let me do that without creating a profile of my own.   So I have a profile, but there's nothing in it -- mostly because I'm not planning to make a long-term career out of my current position or field, and partly because "networking" in general makes me break out in hives.  But hey, it can't hurt, I figured.  Sometimes Joel uses my login to look people up, so it's not useless.  I have exactly four contacts (and two of them are bloggers).  My profile is only 55% complete, whatever that means.

Today I logged in to look something up -- I honestly cannot remember what -- and I spit coffee all over my computer monitor when I saw the welcome screen.  There was a list of "People You Might Know", and on that list were:

1. A dude that was in a couple of my grad classes who now teaches English in Turkey.  I was on his mailing list for awhile and got periodic updates about his life in Istanbul, but I haven't heard anything from him in over a year.
2. Y from Joy Unexpected.  I read her blog.  Once, she replied to one of my comments.  That's as far as our relationship goes.  I doubt she would be pleased to find out that LinkedIn showed me her real last name.
3. My friend's sister. 
4. A girl from my ex-sorority that I haven't talked to in years
5. A friend of a friend -- I thought this one was an error because I didn't recognize the name at first, but when I read her job history I realized that I actually do know her.  Well, sort of. 

So LinkedIn is right, I do know every single one of these people.  But how do THEY know this?  And more importantly, is LinkedIn throwing my name out to random people that I used to get drunk with at sorority formals?  WTF?

I am seriously freaked out.  I want to go home, unplug my computer, and spend the rest of the afternoon making tin foil hats for my kitty cats.

I know that the internet can be a scary place; I understand that nothing on the web is really private.  Heck, I don't even EXPECT things to be private -- I write about my life on a public weblog, for crying out loud.   But sometimes I tend to forget just how much information is out there -- and although I have nothing to "hide", it still freaks me out.  I've been contemplating taking down all the profiles that I don't ever use (MySpace, LinkedIn, etc), but I figured there was really no harm in just leaving them up -- and let's face it, I'm lazy.  But now I'm thinking that maybe that would be a really good project for this weekend -- and I'll make sure to wear my tin foil hat while using the computer from now on.

Comments

[Nic]

I think they pull it from the address book on your computer, so anyone you've ever exchanged e-mails with ends up on there.

[elise]

No, Nic, it's the aliens. I know it is. How else would they know where my Flickr page is? IT ISN'T EVEN UNDER THE SAME NAME!

[Operation Pink Herring]

OH YEAH -- and how did The Knot know where my facebook page was?? ALIENS R IN MY BRAINZ!!1!

[Wickedly Scarlett]

Wow, that kind of has me simultaneously freaked out and intrigued!

I'm such a cyber stalker... it's kind of embarrassing.

[RA]

Oh, that sounds plausible and not that scary, Nic! Let's go with that.

It sounds kind of like when Amazon tells you what other people who have viewed the product have bought, and you're like, "Ooh, I would like that!" Only this is kind of creepy, and you don't get any fun packages in the mail as a result.

[Laurie]

I always wonder about that too - big bro is always watching!!

Also, get on those Nip/Tuck eps in your DVR - the finale was almost too much to handle!

[Operation Pink Herring]

That they got the info from my address book does make sense -- but I am sure they never told/asked me if their program could look in my computer address book, or if they did, it was completely buried in legaleses or Terms of Agreement and that freaks me out. I think it's totally different than Amazon's showing me things other people have viewed, because in that case, Amazon is taking THEIR data and using it to make recommendations -- while LinkedIn is taking MY data and comparing it with theirs. Like, if Amazon searched my address book and then showed me things my friends have recently purchase, that would freak me out too!

[Isabel]

Yeah, if they can/do look up your address book...I'm totally freaked out. NOT COOL.

(Crap, do I need to take down my MySpace profile? But how will my exhusband know I'm hott if I take it down?)

[Laurel]

I feel that way about the "you may know" feature on Facebook. (It's new.) It keeps showing me a friend from high school who I had a falling out with 4 years ago. I'm like, "I DO know her... we do know lots of the same people, but don't taunt me with the fact that we are no longer friends!"

[janet]

yeah, I just basically try not to think about that stuff. I also try to keep my profiles so that there is enough info that I can approve of what's there, and not much more. The world doesn't need to know what I had for breakfast. Oh wait, I have a blog for that...

[katelin]

Facebook does that now too, it's sort of crazy.

[Michelle]

I'm partially fascinated by who they might link me up with and terrified by who they might link me up with. (And how to be honest.) My hubby is a huge geek and loves that site.

[Jemima]

I know! It's terrifying. Did you read how Facebook was getting in trouble for linking people's purchases to their Facebook pages for all their friends to see? Things like pregnancy and AIDS tests! I've already had trouble with blogger getting purchased by Google and Flickr getting purchased by Yahoo, so all my blog and email things are getting linked and outed. It makes me want to call someone and shriek at them.

[Stephanie]

I am on linked in and am so mehhhh about it. I am on Facebook and mehhh about it. I am also on myspace and mehhhh about it. But the thing is that I have to do it because everyone else does.

Damn being a follower.