File sharing is one of the best additions to a business venture. File sharing speeds up the process of collaborations that, in turn, speeds up the time it takes to have new innovations on old themes or processes. However, not everything about file sharing is rosy and positive.

File sharing has a dark side and the dark side has to due with the way the companies that have file-sharing services use the information they collect about their users. The companies that own file-sharing services usually hide their practices in the fine print of their user agreements. This means that the user agrees to things that they are not aware of because they do not think about what they are doing before they do it.

Hiding terms and conditions in fine print is nothing new. In fact, it is a favorite practice of many well-known companies. However deceptive the practice is, it is still employed by many big companies out in the market. Therefore, it is found in the file sharing industry.

However, this does not mean that the problem is any smaller; it just might be bigger because the information about a person is greater online than it is offline. Even if the person who uses the file sharing system never experiences identity theft, they will experience a problem with finances anyway.

The file sharing systems like to look at what is inside the information that is uploaded to their servers. This information then is used to classify and segment the users in groups who are likely to buy x product or y service. The Cloud system then sells the advertising space to a company in that particular niche, and the user finds it very hard to resist the ads.

Let us keep in mind that this all happens without the user noticing in most cases. This means that the user is in the dark about how much privacy they are actually losing everyday. They will never know unless they stop and read the fine print, which is highly unlikely. Therefore, this vicious cycle keeps repeating over and over.

The best thing for the user to do is to check the fine print before signing on to one of these systems. This gives the potential user a good idea of what their information will be used for and they can make a decision on whether or not that is OK with them.

If a person has already signed on to one of these services, then it is best for that user to control all the information that is placed into the system from that point on into the future. Even though the person cannot get their privacy back, they can manage how much more damage is done to them in the future by controlling the new information that is loaded into the system.

The dark side of file sharing exists and every user (person or business) should be aware of all the pitfalls of using the systems. This gives them the best chance of avoiding problems in the future and keeping their privacy as long as they want to have that privacy. Therefore, doing the due diligence before signing up to a service is very important and is necessary now and in the future.

Scott Buendia consults for Bizbuilt.com. All the views and tactics in this article are tactics and ideas of the author; they do not necessarily represent the ideals, beliefs, or trademarks of Bizbuilt.com. Visit his card on Bizbuilt here, https://www.bizbuilt.com/socialmediaprivacy.

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Social networks are fond of telling you how many friends or contacts you have. That just appears to encourage "contact farming" where people try and get to the top of a list for the number of connections they have amassed. "I've got more friends than you," people appear keen to say. Some business people even promote the need for you to get as many contacts as possible, citing serendipitous examples of people who met online and discovered a joint interest which led to them becoming multimillionaires, or some such fantastical notion. Others, meanwhile, suggest that it isn't the quantity of contacts you have, but the quality of the people you are really connected with.

Chasing numbers is a fruitless task, really. You may become top of the charts for your town in terms of the numbers of friends you have, but do you actually, honestly, know all of them? For some people, yes, they know everyone in their contact list, but for others their list of followers or friends is so huge, they have no chance of knowing them all.

The Dunbar Number is the theoretical limit of the number of friends you can really connect with; it is 148. Essentially, if you have more than 148 followers on Twitter, or more than 148 Facebook friends, or more than 148 connections on LinkedIn, then you cannot possible know them all. That's the theory and there is some limited evidence which supports this notion in terms of online social networks.

New research, however, adds a twist to the "numbers game" on social networks. Researchers at Michigan State University looked at the notion of "social capital" and online social networking activity. Social capital is basically what we feel we get out of our social groups. Imagine you have a group of close friends, you meet regularly and you discuss how you can all improve your businesses and careers. You might feel you get a great deal out of that group. But you also have another group of people you meet regularly, perhaps parents at your child's local school. You meet them once a week, but you feel you get less out of them than your business friends. The parental group has less social capital than the business friends group.

So, the researchers at Michigan wanted to know was there any difference in the social capital depending on the strategies people followed on social networks. Some people connect with anyone, building up quantity rather than quality. Whereas others focus on sharing things with their contacts.

The study found that the greatest social capital was found amongst the sharers. In other words, you get the most out of people on social networks who share the most with you.

If you want an online strategy for your business this has a clear message - share stuff, share more stuff and share even more. The more you share, the more you will be valued.

Graham Jones is a psychologist who investigates the way people use the Internet and how people shop online. His research can help you make the most of the Internet, particularly if you are hoping to make money online.

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