[note to admins: we need a 'soapbox' smilie
]
[another note to the admins: maybe I should post this on the Community side?]
I just posted in the "Recent Updates" thread about an updated (for Lion) utility. The email I got from the developers was all excited about the update and their newly remodeled website. To 'celebrate,' they are giving away an iPad 2 to two winners. Then the kicker: "All you need to do to participate in the competition is like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter."
So, they are not 'celebrating' by giving previous/current owners anything. They are simply awarding prices to two people who click their "Like" or "Follow" buttons at FB or Twitter. They even mention increasing ones chance by doing both. I suppose creating as many email alias' as possible and using all of those would also increase ones chances.
Such flagrant manipulation of a "contest" is nothing more than cheating, IMHO. I'm sure the developer's are only attempting to increase their rankings at both sites, I'm not sure they actually get any payments, but it shows that these sites are not only making money off us, but that they have convinced other companies to do the same. My question is, for how little will people sell be willing to "sell" themselves. Not for an actual iPad, how about just a chance to get one?
I'm positive that the vast majority of folks see absolutely nothing wrong with any of this and besides, "all that info is already out there." I recently attended a meeting of my 50th HS Reunion committee. There were several classmate guests there also. One thing being discussed was a "Memory Book" that printed graduation pictures, short bio's from those who volunteered them as well as any who managed to upload a current image. A friend had set up an account at classreport.org and that's where most of the info for the book was to be gathered. The site presented not only the above info but anything else the class member sent in; email address, home address, phone numbers, spouses name(s), children, etc. Naturally, some provided more info than others. The site also requires a log in password/ID.
One of the guests, a medical doctor, asked if the email address he submitted would be included in the printed book. The book committee didn't see why not. The doctor said he would not have offered his addy if he had known it would be shared publicly! I mentioned that a spreadsheet had been sent to everyone who had an email address from past reunions which included all that info, whether it had been sent to the web site admin or not. And since that was certainly not protected by anything more than what each recipient did with their copy, there was certainly no way to even suggest that all that data was not already "public." I also said I was not in the least worried that someone would break into my house and steal a 'memory book' in an attempt to gather the email address of a fellow classmate!
Eventually, it was decided to include only the bio, the city and state and two images of each classmate.
But I realized the extreme lack of awareness by my age group, anyway, of what information is already available, how it can be gathered and why security of our own PC's is so important. I seriously doubt that anyone even considered that the class web site could be accessed by someone. The mere lack of knowledge leads to a false sense of security re-enforced by a morality that would never think of blatant, dishonest behavior. Hopefully, most of these people at least lock their doors at night...
Now, will somebody help an old man off his soapbox? 
