Recently, we tracked down a number of witnesses using the usual armada of investigative databases. However, some witnesses had moved recently and did not appear to have current addresses in the data. No problem: many witnesses between the ages of 21 and 30 had conveniently plastered their entire personal life on Facebook, Twitter, Bebo, etc. making follow up relatively easy. One witness when called on her "private" cell phone expressed dismay at the intrusion. Later, she realized that she had provided the cell phone to a numer of retailers who, to her surprise, resold her "private" cell number database firms.

The modern American: willing to give private contact information to grocery clerks in exchange for "special offers" on mustard.

Tags: databases, privacy, social networking