Fed Wants to Monitor Internet

[Eddie_T]

The Federal Reserve wants to develop a highly sophisticated system that will gather everything we say about it on the internet "supposedly" to analyze what our feelings about it are. Of course accolades would be no problem, but why would it want to gather information on everyone that views it negatively? I am sure it won't base its policies on public opinion. They don't say how they actually plan to use this information but it clearly seems like a "big brother" is watching scenario.

[blucher]

One of my congressmen and another fellow are speaking up about what they call an illegal interpretation of the Patriot Act to spy on people.

Security is not an excuse to loosen the limits on those most prone to abuse the law.

[rivalarrival]

Originally Posted by Eddie_T

The Federal Reserve wants to develop a highly sophisticated system that will gather everything we say about it on the internet "supposedly" to analyze what our feelings about it are. Of course accolades would be no problem, but why would it want to gather information on everyone that views it negatively? I am sure it won't base its policies on public opinion. They don't say how they actually plan to use this information but it clearly seems like a "big brother" is watching scenario.

Wow. I think you need a translator, from "Conspiracy Theorist" to "English". I'd like to offer my services:

Originally Posted by Conspiracy Theorist

The Federal Reserve wants to develop a highly sophisticated system that will gather everything we say about it on the internet

Originally Posted by Plain English

The Federal Reserve wants to get their own accounts on various social networking sites like Twitter, Google+, Facebook, etc.

When every major corporation on the planet did this over the past decade, was it a "big brother is watching" scenario, or was it a means for them to improve their customer service and public relations?

[Eddie_T]

Or we could just read what Forbes has to say about it:

Federal Reserve Wants to Monitor Facebook, Twitter

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is recognizing social media?s potential to shape public opinion, and requesting monitoring and analysis of Facebook and Twitter conversations.

The Fed?s ?Request for Proposal for a Sentiment Analysis and Social Media Monitoring Solution? aims to identify online conversations by the public, bloggers, and other influencers for the department?s Communications Group. The program seeks to monitor billions of conversations on social media, generate text analytics, and also determine the sentiment of a speaker or writer with respect to some topic or document.

The Communications Group is tasked with proactively keeping the agency aware of the reactions and opinions of the public, as expressed in Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogs, and aggregate data from media outlets like the Wall Street Journal and CNN.

Some are comparing the proposal to counterespionage or surveillance, but the NY Fed says it reflects its commitment to ?improving its communications and engagement with the public in order to enhance and improve the public?s understanding of its activities and the role it plays in supporting the U.S. Economy,? according to a Fed spokesman?s statement.

The real-time data will be categorized as ?positive, negative or neutral,? so the agency can reportedly monitor public perception as it moves forward.

The announcement also underscores how social media is becoming the digital age?s ?water cooler,? the place to gauge the population?s opinions and reactions, and the NY Fed isn?t the first to tap into it.

Wall Street now analyzes Twitter and other social media to inform investment decisions, in response to news pointing to a correlation between the collective mood expressed in millions of tweets and the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

And political parties are taking note, too. For example, President Barack Obama?s Twitter town hall drew nearly 170,000 questions and comments this summer.

The event followed news the President?s election campaign hired Harper Reed as its new chief technology officer to integrate technologies into the team?s digital strategy.

The NY Fed?s proposal, as controversial as it may be, demonstrates the growing realization of the importance of social media as a barometer of popular sentiment, ideas and as a way to gauge the mood of a population.

This post originally appeared at Mobiledia.

I am concerned anytime "big bro" is watching, of course the Fed is not government owned but the government could have access to its files. People have been warned that their text messages are retained by the carriers and that the government can solicit them. So this is just another step into the loss of privacy, and the possibility of facing one's words again. I have determined not to use those media so no problem here. Judge Bork found his movie rentals data presented during his non-confirmation hearings.

I find it interesting that the latest I-phone will let one speak, have it translated into text or translate text into speech. Why not just speak to the other party from the getgo?

[rivalarrival]

So, let me get this straight: Somehow, people have an expectation of privacy
of their comments WHEN THEY POST THOSE COMMENTS IN A PUBLIC FORUM?!?

You're trolling, right? I REALLY hope you're trolling.

Originally Posted by Eddie_T

Or we could just read what Forbes has to say about it:I am concerned anytime "big bro" is watching, of course the Fed is not government owned but the government could have access to its files. People have been warned that their text messages are retained by the carriers and that the government can solicit them.

Explain to me exactly what part of the RFP involves the Federal Reserve receiving copies of my text messages. Explain to me how the fact that the government can get a warrant to read my past texts has ANYTHING to do with the Fed and this RFP.

So this is just another step into the loss of privacy, and the possibility of facing one's words again.

You mean those words that one posted on Twitter, or a blog post, or an internet forum like cityprofiles.com?

I have determined not to use those media

Uh... You sure about that? I've got some pretty convincing evidence to the contrary!

so no problem here.

Judge Bork found his movie rentals data presented during his non-confirmation hearings.

Oh really. You mean after he voluntarily submitted himself to an intensive investigation as part of his confirmation process, he was confronted with information obtained in the course of that investigation? Holy ****, what an invasion of privacy!

I find it interesting that the latest I-phone will let one speak, have it translated into text or translate text into speech. Why not just speak to the other party from the getgo?

1. You presume the ability to hear.
2. Perhaps your recipient prefers visual communication, i.e. e-mail.
3. Someone can use such a device for note keeping; sending themselves machine-transcribed messages for later review.

I receive transcribed voicemail messages courtesy of Google Voice, and have done so for years now. Machine transcription is generally useful enough to get the idea of what the speaker is trying to convey, and I can read the transcript faster than I can listen to them speak it. Still, I have no idea what this has to do with the Fed's RFP TO ESTABLISH ACCOUNTS ON SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES.

[RedJeepXJ]

Originally Posted by Eddie_T

The Federal Reserve wants to develop a highly sophisticated system that will gather everything we say about it on the internet "supposedly" to analyze what our feelings about it are. Of course accolades would be no problem, but why would it want to gather information on everyone that views it negatively? I am sure it won't base its policies on public opinion. They don't say how they actually plan to use this information but it clearly seems like a "big brother" is watching scenario.

what have we talked about referring to an article somewhere but posting no link.......

[Eddie_T]

Maybe I am suspicious because I remember when my SSN was an account number not to be used for identification and now it is used for identifying and tracking me and presents an opportunity for identity theft. What the government and its allies such as the fed do today is but the tip of the iceberg and though maybe not a conspiracy as the government grows new and novel utilization is developed for every bit of information.

[izel]

My thoughts are why not just haqve people float around and chat about Federal Rerve things? Get a better idea what people think/ Sure many people woukd go for a job to float around social web sites and get paid!

[rivalarrival]

Originally Posted by izel

My thoughts are why not just haqve people float around and chat about Federal Rerve things? Get a better idea what people think/ Sure many people woukd go for a job to float around social web sites and get paid!

Read the RFP. That's not far from what the Fed asked for.

[rivalarrival]

Originally Posted by Eddie_T

Maybe I am suspicious...

The word is "Paranoid".

The fed reviewing social media and blogs in 2011 is akin to the fed reading the newspaper in 1960.