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By Jeffrey N. Rosenthal/The Legal Intelligencer

By now it should go without saying: Be careful what you post on social networking sites. For a lot of reasons.

But here's yet another reason to be conscious of your online presence: Insurance companies are beginning to check social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to determine if you are a coverage risk. In fact, you may even have a "social media score" to prove it.

And, just like your credit score, your social media score can impact what you qualify for and affect how much you pay for coverage. Unlike a credit score, it is hard to say exactly what goes into a social media score -- or if existing federal laws provide sufficient oversight.

Companies have always been interested in who their customers are, and the Internet makes it easier to obtain that information. British Airways tries to surprise its passengers with greetings and personal touches based on Googled information; high-end restaurants commonly search their bookings online to see who is coming in.

But it may come as a surprise to learn that insurance companies surf social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to get the scoop on their customers, or pay third-party vendors to snoop for them.

At least one Canadian insurance company, Manulife Financial, has confirmed that it uses Facebook to investigate clients. A notable example involved a Quebec woman on long-term leave who had her benefits cut after her employer's insurance company, Manulife, found potentially contradictory photos posted on Facebook, according to a 2009 article by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.

Nathalie Blanchard, 29, had been on leave suffering from major depression for a year when her sick-leave benefits were discontinued. When called for an explanation, her insurance agent described several pictures she posted on Facebook -- including ones showing her having a good time at a Chippendales bar, at her birthday party and at the beach.

In response, Ms. Blanchard told CBC News that, on her doctor's advice, she had been trying to have fun as a way to forget her problems. She later initiated legal action to reinstate her benefits.

Such online tracking efforts used to take significant human energy, but not anymore. Today, vendors build online programs to automate this process using sophisticated data-mining tools.

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Do you know your social media score?

Summary: CEO of L99.com plans to sue social networking giant, claims he has video evidence of Facebook CEO attending lecture where he introduced feature.

The CEO of Chinese social network, L99.com, said he plans to sue Facebook, claiming that the latter's Timeline feature had infringed L99's intellectual property.

China Youth Daily reported Monday that Xiong Wanli claimed that L99.com in February 2008 had launched a feature that organized information chronologically.

Facebook's Timeline was first announced by its CEO Mark Zuckerberg last September, as part of wider changes to the site's features and appearance.

Xiong said the launch of L99's timeline feature was a matter of public record, adding he had video evidence that Zuckerberg attended a lecture he gave at Stanford University where he introduced the feature.

According to Xiong, United States-based lawyers have approached him to ask if L99 plans to sue Facebook.

Facebook's Timeline feature was also targeted in a previous lawsuit last year. Chicago-based Web site Timelines.com filed a trademark-infringement lawsuit against Facebook last September to stop it from implementing Timeline, arguing that its business could be "possibly eliminated" by the launch. Its request for a temporary restraining order was, however, rejected.

Jamie writes about technology, business and the most obvious intersection of the two that is software. Other variegated topics include--in one form or other--cloud, Web 2.0, apps, data, analytics, mobile, services, and the three Es: enterprises, executives and entrepreneurs. In a previous life, she was a writer covering a different but equally serious business called show business.

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Chinese social network claims IP theft over Facebook Timeline

Social networking sites like Facebook and YouTube have informed the government that inflammatory contents uploaded on their pages originated from Pakistan.

"The initial response from international social networking sites indicates that such contents have been hosted from outside the country and to a large extent from a neighbouring country (Pakistan)," Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DEIT) said in a statement.

The response of these websites came after the government ordered ban of more than 250 pages charging that morphed images and videos were uploaded displaying alleged atrocities on Muslims. The government also said that these led to the fear psychosis among the people of the North-East and their mass exodus from different parts of the country.

However, one of the intermediary sites has conveyed to the DEIT that uploaders of the inflammatory and hateful contents were outside the jurisdiction of the country, "thereby implying that they are not obliged to take any constructive step to deal with it".

The DEIT said most of the contents were taken from events "unrelated to the incident occurred in Assam. Hosting of such morphed image and video led to a lot of inciting comments from users on the blogs...and circulation of hate SMSes".

"The DEIT has been working with international social networking sites on this issue. However, a lot more and quicker action is expected from them to address such a sensitive issue which concern restoring peace, harmony, public order and national security," the statement said.

It said proxy servers and virtual private network services which hide the user identity appear to have been used for uploading the content. The agencies are continuously monitoring hosting of such inflammatory and harmful content.

Copyright 2012 PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of PTI content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent.

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Inflammatory content uploaded from Pak: Networking sites

Pinterest, the latest in social networking Priyanka Joshi / Mumbai Aug 20, 2012, 00:31 IST

If you thought social media was only about posting on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and, perhaps, YouTube, then get ready for Pinterest, which is being billed as the hottest new social hangout on the digital platform. In fact, according to AppAppeal data, Pinterest is the 40th most popular site in India based on a combination of average daily visitors and pageviews. As many as 7.2 per cent of the Pinterest users come from India and they generate 6.6 per cent of the pageviews on Pinterest.

At its heart, Pinterest is a picture sharing platform where individuals take images, called Pins, and place them on customised boards on any topic, ranging from food, humor, animals, and so on. These images are shared with followers and friends, giving them the option to repin, like, or comment. In simple words, Pinterest users get to share interesting images with others on nearly any topic or category.

Until recently, Pinterest was only available on the web and through the iPhone app, but the social-bookmarking service has now rolled out Android and iPad apps, too.

Understanding Pinterest Browsing Pinterest for the first time can be overwhelming. Take time to go through a few of the pages and it becomes clear why it has become such a rage.

Like Twitter, you can follow anyone, even if they arent following you back. Users can follow other Pinners that share their interests and style, creating a homepage that is directly populated with specific content. Once the user has an idea of what interests he wants to show on his page, the next step is to populate their boards with Pins. A Pin is an image added on Pinterest, which can be of virtually anything. There are a number of different ways to attach a Pin to a board, including uploading an image or repining from another users board. The user can also upload Pins through Pinterests Pin It button, a browser bookmark that grabs an image from virtually any website.

Repins are the re-tweets in Pinterest world, which is technically sharing an image pinned by someone you follow or have found on Pinterest by adding it to one of your own boards. Just as you re-tweet someones tweet on Twitter or share a status update on Facebook.

Why use Pinterest? When Twitter launched, many did not understand the value of an unstructured stream of 140 characters. Pinterest might seem like a picture sharing site, but it is social media with only the need to curate images you like or want to show to your friends. Theres no denying that we all love to see and share images, far more than words. In fact, images and videos are the most shared content on Facebook. Its a great visual platform for both professionals and individuals who want to showcase their work or creativity. For instance, a home business owner who would like to spread the word about the business, can do by posting interesting pictures.

So, those who have been sitting on the fence about Pinterest, now is the time to jump in and start pinning.

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Pinterest, the latest in social networking

Janata Dal-United chief Sharad Yadav on Saturday advocated temporary ban on social networking sites to check rumour mongering in view of exodus of people hailing from the northeast from various parts of the country.

Talking to reporters in New Delhi [ Images ], he also hit out at the central government's "inept handling" of the situation arising out of the ethnic violence in Assam.

"Why has the government not asked these social networking sites to disclose the names of those who first uploaded such inflammatory messages... These sites should themselves come forward to help the country track down these anti-social and anti-national forces... If they don't volunteer, the government should temporarily suspend these operations in national interest," he said.

He noted that the freedom of expression cannot be allowed to destroy the very foundation of the country's freedom itself.

"The violence in Assam and its fallout in other parts of the country leading to the exodus, has completely exposed the inept handling of the situation. If the state government ignored all warnings and signals and mishandled the situation in the first place, the central government failed to foresee the hidden hand behind these riots and the worsening situation," Yadav said, adding he was shocked to see the "helplessness" of this "incompetent" government.

"It even failed to visualise the magnitude of the problem in the first place and devise a proper plan to take firm action against anti-social and anti-national elements, who used the social networking sites to spread canards," he said.

Yadav said the government's order to ban bulk SMSes won't suffice and demanded to know who are the people spreading rumours through the social networking sites.

"Why has the government not tracked down those elements, who used the bulk SMSes to spread these rumours," he said.

Copyright 2012 PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of PTI content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent.

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JD-U chief for temporary ban on social networking sites