Foursquare and Twitter Team Up to Rob You

If you never thought that the level of information that is available about you on the internet was dangerous, just have a look at PleaseRobMe.com where Foursquare global positioning updates combine with Twitter updates to produce some very useful knowledge for the unscrupulous among us.

The creators of the site are clearly not trying to provide information for would-be criminals, but are simply making a point. And a shocking one at that. As we become more connected with the internet and information is out there for anyone to use, who will protect us from those who would use the information we provide to swindle or harm us online and in the physical world? How will we, as a society, weigh the benefits provided to us through the internet's vast array of functionality with the potential cost of having the information we input to gain these benefits used against us?

Similarly, if we do not address these issues soon, we risk the involvement of government on the internet which has heretofore been unregulated. In what ways can the internet community police itself so that we don't end up trading our "freedom to" do as we please on the internet (which allows for such immense creativity and growth) for a "freedom from" being victimized?