Records in the News - Privacy

There is one issue that is at the core of GRM Document Management's business. It's at the core of our customers' businesses and it's at the core of our customers' customers' concerns...privacy.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has apparently admitted he doesn't believe in privacy. The revelation came from a tweet from a New York Times tech blogger, Nick Bilton. He attributed the quote to an off the record chat with a Facebook employee.

If it's true, I find it a little ironic that Zuckerberg's apparent invasion of privacy came via a social networking site.

It's doubtful that many people will remove their Facebook accounts after reading this. According to Facebook statistics, the site has about 400 million active users, more than the population of the entire US. For millions of people, the site is a social and or business necessity.

There are steps everyone can make to protect their privacy, even on Facebook. As a general rule of thumb, don't post anything you wouldn't want your boss, your mother, your neighbor or your local prison convict to know. Go to your privacy settings and make absolutely everything private. This won't prevent Facebook from selling your hobbies, likes and dislikes, but it will limit the amount of information that's floating out in cyberspace.

Like Facebook, GRM Document Management is a repository of information. Unlike, Facebook, protecting our customers' privacy is our number one priority. Our customers' data is disguised, either by digital encryption or by bar coded boxes. Our centers have the industry's strictest security equipment and procedures. Our personnel are required to be background checked and to have random drug tests. Our customers' privacy is guaranteed.

Records in the News

There are signs this week that we are truly coming out of the recession, and one of those signs hits very close to home, the Records Management Industry. Xerox Corp stock saw the largest jump in over a year. They credit the fact that businesses are spending more on document management along with the company's purchase of Affiliated Computer Services. The success of the stock further demonstrates the need for fully integrated document management services.

New home sales saw a 27% increase last month, the biggest monthly increase in 47 years. The New York Times is crediting the home tax credit, which will expire by the end of the month.

In non-economic news, several North American, European and Asian countries had a teleconference this week about Facebook and other social networking sites. At issue is data privacy and prevention of identity theft. Facebook now has almost half a billion users. If it were a country, it would be the third largest in the world.