Then yesterday this message came from Google:

“We’re getting rid of over 60 different privacy policies across Google and replacing them with one that’s a lot shorter and easier to read. Our new policy covers multiple products and features, reflecting our desire to create one beautifully simple and intuitive experience across Google.

We believe this stuff matters, so please take a few minutes to read our updated Privacy Policy and Terms of Service at http://www.google.com/policies/

They say that their privacy policy has not changed but that it is now going to be easier to share information across all the Google platforms. It all sounds very positive but one cannot help feeling that the ‘devil may be in the detail’!

Last summer it was reported that 100,000 British users deactivated theirFacebook accounts during May, reducing the total number to 29.8 million. And apparently six million logged off for good in America in the same period.

While doubtless some of these had become bored with social media generally or Facebook in particular, anecdotal evidence (from forums and blogs) highlights that many were concerned over privacy issues.

Whatever the truth, the issue of privacy in social media is not going to go away.

Mark Zuckerberg socialmedia101.org

At the recent Google Zeitgeist conference in Hertfordshire, UK Chancellor George Osborne announced that schoolchildren will be taught to design apps for smartphones through a deal with Blackberry under which they will hold an ‘apps challenge’ at the technology hub in Shoreditch in East London.

An unnamed Treasury spokesperson is quoted as saying that ‘Our hope is the UK can produce a Zuckerberg or Brin of the future’.

While this is a laudable objective, however creative the people – and the UK’s techies are highly creative – being clever is not enough.

What young entrepreneurs need is cash to start and grow businesses – something the UK banks are strangely reluctant to provide, in spite of threats by the Government if the High Street banks do not increase their lending.

Tech hubs (such as those around the Silicon Roundabout in London) and business incubators are springing up throughout the UK but having great ideas and superb technical skills are not enough.

Private investors – such as those who invest via Angels Den are doing a great job but what we need is low cost or no cost start-up finance for tech companies.

Otherwise the UK will never create an international business to rival Facebook or Google.

Ashton Kutcher

MSN Celebrity yesterday suggested that Twitter was protecting actor and internet entrepreneur Ashton Kutcher who has been accused of cheating on his wife, the actress Demi Moore, a feed they picked up from an excellent article on Newsweek.com http://www.newsweek.com/blogs/kausfiles/2010/09/27/is-twitter-protecting-ashton-kutcher.html?from=rss

Whether the allegations are true or not, if Twitter is manipulating the posts and deleting any that refer to the allegations then it is a very worrying development.

 Kutcher is a big player on Twitter, with nearly six million followers yet his message stream at @APlusK does not show the mixture of pro and anti comments one would expect.

 Social media was created in an atmosphere of openness and welcome feedback. If the message is going to be manipulated by the platform owners then the whole premise on which social media has been established – and flourished – may be in jeopardy.

 If our messages are being monitored, manipulated or even being removed then social media has moved into a new, darker place.

Obviously there are lots of other platforms – and new social media sites – but the main players continue to dominate the social media space.

That said, as the market stabilizes it is time to use the tools more strategically and concentrate on the message rather than the shiny new medium.

At Cerco we are increasingly being asked to devise a social media strategy for clients. Only this week we advised on the use of a private Twitter group for passing information around a group of multi-national and multi-discipline salespeople.

The client was astonished at the versatility of Twitter and how the real time information would supplement their intranet – all free of charge.

For an excellent article on Twitter best practice see: http://blog.spurinteractive.com/2010/03/07/twitter-best-practices-for-social-media-marketing/

Author Steve Latham makes the valid point that too many tweets are about me, my thoughts and my status.

If you are using Twitter for business, do not tell us that you are standing in a supermarket queue. Your (business audience) does not care.

We have recently witnessed two cases of ‘careless (Twitter) talk costing sales’ – to paraphrase the old WW2 saying.

In both cases the Twitterers forgot they had potential clients following them and made totally inappropriate comments, losing themselves future work and attracting much negative ‘buzz’.

So the old Marketing adage of the message being as important as the medium still holds good!

While some of the audience wholeheartedly grasped the opportunities presented by blogging, Twitter and Facebook, it is fair to say that a number were less convinced.

When we explained that many major companies (and CEOs) were using Twitter – to break news that could be of interest to those looking for a new role – more understood the potential power of social media.

The news that Twitter has launched a new website aimed at business users called ExecTweets which pulls together posts from corporate executives adds credence to what we were saying on Monday.

The site was created in conjunction with ad agency Federated Media and has been sponsored by Microsoft – so it is likely to become well-used very quickly. We will watch with interest.

ExecTweets: http://www.exectweets.com

Politicans are quickly learning the value of Facebook. Barack Obama understood the importance of social media and his use of the medium had a huge impact on the race to the White House.

The world of politics is finding Facebook offers a fast way of quickly gathering support for a particular campaign or issue.

Facebook allows the individual to find their political voice again.

For business it can provide a wonderful insight into what your customers think about you and your brand.