
What could possibly go right?
I asked what could possibly go right because the list is shorter.
Credit card company American Express has launched a service that lets customers buy things using Twitter. The new Card Sync service from American Express syncs customers' credit cards to their Twitter accounts and allows Twits to burn the plastic from the comfort of of their Twitter app. "You can turn a hashtag into more than …
remember that craze about that... what was it, half-life?
lol, I wasn't that wrong - SECOND life. More like a no-life.
anyway, expect similar now. Cause like, they're bred this way: can't stop about how to make more money in new, innovative ways, blah blah blah. Cause like, you know, if they don't, somebody else will, and pull the rug from under their polished shoes. Race race race
Sending financial transactions through not only an unencrypted but a publicly accessible channel - what could possibly go wrong with that!?
Why not just send people's other personal shit like medical info via twiiter too? Example...
"@Paris - Your results are now available #std #testresults #hasgotclap"
Jeeze!
So what precisely is going to go wrong then? People can see what you are buying... OK fine but Amazon already have "post this purchase on FB/Twitter". But what specific security issues are there from knowing someone is buying something?
Are you thinking people hacking into your Twitter account, or something else? Not saying there isn't a massive problem, but it would be better to hear it than have everyone jump on the "it's obviously stupid just because it's Twitter".
Not obviously stupid no, I wouldn't say that. But it is stupid!
Examples of why...
Accounts being hacked, making a fool of yourself by tweating that you brought Findus ready-meals on valentines day, marketers using the info in your feed to spam you with targeted crap, boring people with your purchases.
Yes, but in the non IT world everyone isn't obsessed about keeping everything secret that they do on the internet ;)
More seriously, these are likely promotional/special offers, so telling people you're buying it is a)not that weird b)quite deliberate.
It's not like you are under any illusion it's private after all.
It seems a bit of foolishness to me, a nice advertising gimmick but not much more.
"what specific security issues are there from knowing someone is buying something?"
In general there isn't a security issue knowing your buddy just bought a new 55" 3D TV, but it's an extension of the 'I'm off to Tahiti for two weeks' tweet that gets magnified by the combination since it effectively becomes:
'@peeps bought new 55" TV and tix to Tahiti with my AMEX. Off tomorrow, C U in 2 weeks'.
'@peeps bought new 55" TV and tix to Tahiti with my AMEX. Off tomorrow, C U in 2 weeks'.
Yep, pretty much. Yet another advertising scheme to match a target to a persona. A lot of people just don't mind selling themselves cheaply, and companies have used the internet to discover this quickly.
It's not what is wrong with services like this, it is what is wrong with you for considering them.