Just when you thought it was perfectly save to Tweet while still in your pajamas... Just when you thought it was safe to invite another friend to your Facebook Mafia Wars... how you act in Social Media is being watched and measured. And soon, thanks to a firm called Rapleaf.com -- how you Tweet may be affecting your FICO scores.
Rapleaf.com -- is a new firm that has been trawling, collecting and selling your Tweets, Hugs, Causes and Pillow Fights. I'm outraged and shocked to have learned of the existence of this firm and quite frankly -- I think this is a huge intrusion into my private part of my life. I'm rather pissed off to learn that my chirps on Twitter can determine if I'm a credit risk or not.
I don't mind blogging. I don't mind having to remove the occasional Twitter leeches following me or the college co-ed who wants me to help pay for her tuition, getting me to pay $39.95 to see her chat naked from her dorm room.
I do mind having my blogs and chirps collected then sold to the Government or the Credit Bureaus.
So, being naturally inquisitive -- I've written to and called on Rapleaf and speak to any member of their executive staff. I've yet to hear back from them.
Apparently, Rapleaf.com's sole business purpose is to tap into the gazillions of Tweet's then they sell the data.
After spending a lot of time on their website, it's my guess that they sell a watered down version of this data cleverly disguised as "social network business intelligence information," that companies can buy.
My main concern is this: Are they selling data to the U.S. Government and the (3) Credit Bureaus jam packed with personal stuff that neither you nor I want them to have? Your name. Your Twitter account. And how many times you broadcast how many cars you counted driving past your house.
The question begging to be asked is this;
Is blogging with nothing to say, Chirping what you just ate for lunch, asking too many people to Hug you, join your cause, pillow fights, Mafia Wars... is this that sort of activity branding me as a moron, a person with a mental disorder, or as a credit risk to Equifax?
Enquiring minds want to know!
Rapleaf.com is rumored to have drawn it's business and domain name from "RAP sheet," -- the kind of criminal record "nickname" used by the police. Rack up too many NEGATIVE points and you start to fall in what is being being called their "RAP sheet zone," which rates you as a bad credit risk.
Unless you've never watched the movie with Gene Hackman and Will Smith (Enemy of the State) or any other Government conspiracy movie, you need to know that the CIA is watching you through a very real and scary electronics surveillance project called ECHELON (yes, that is the REAL name).
There are a handful of very hot "key" words that the Government screens for electronically to identify possible homeland security threats. This is called the Patriot Act and the law permits the CIA to monitor your email, blogs, your cell phone and analog land line communications.
There's lots of good money in collecting this kind of information. I managed to call up all (3) of the Credit Bureaus before the Turkey Day Holiday and all of them confirmed they are getting data like this from multiple sources. Not one of them would disclose how much they pay for this data or how often they get it.
Below are the sources where they said data is being collected from on all of us;
- MySpace
- The U.S. Government
- Lexis Nexus
- Your insurance companies (including medical records)
Insurance companies have been using your FICO scores to determine how much of a risk you are behind wheel or not. In fact, many insurance companies use your FICO scores as a bigger determining factor over how many parking tickets you have.
Once I have a candid conversation with one of the principals of Rapleaf.com, I will post it here. But for now, keep in mind that your Tweets on Twitter are being monitored and are possibly being used against you.
So before you Chirp how bored you are by Tweeting that you are sitting on your porch," think twice and think about an intelligent thing to broadcast (instead) in your 140 character chirp.
Smart Chirps as opposed to stupid ones, just might fool RapLeaf into thinking you're 20 IQ points smarter or more successful than you really are, and you might see your FICO score go up simply because you a more socially smarter blogger.
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