You Did What!?!? Where?!?! Oh Wait...NvM, It's all on your meta data...

Location-based services have been around for years, but only until recently have social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ have integrated these features into their own platforms.  For those of you not in the know; location-based services connect your device (mobile phone, computer, tablet, etc.) to a global tracking service via the I.P. Address (Internet Protocol) or GPS (Global Positioning System) in order to retrieve or deliver information.  Simple examples include geo-tagging images you took while on vacation or searching for a nearby Thai restaurant via Google Maps.

Many of us like to share this information with friends and family since it's all in good fun.  So you're probably asking me what's the big deal?  What should we as users be concerned about?  What are the ethical implications?  I'll highlight a few of my concerns below:

1. Intellectual Property ~ Images & Videos
   Think you own the images and videos you post on Facebook?  Think again, in April 2011, Facebook modified their Terms of Service in a way that grants them the right to use photos and images you posted onto their network for absolutely any purpose whatsoever.  To top it off, their strategic advertising partners also have the right to use your intellectual property as they see fit...just as long as the images and videos you posted are still on the network.  Since images and photos you post onto Facebook via a mobile phone automatically publish location-based data, Facebook and their advertising partners have access to the specific places you visit, how long you've been their, and how frequently you go there.
2. Ever Changing Terms of ServiceSince I briefly mentioned Facebook's Terms of Service I'll expand this segment and ask: have you kept count of how many times Facebook has changed their terms of service?  Since 2008, they've made five major modifications.  That's once every nine months or so.  Even more if you count their mobile applications on iOS and Android, along with their presence internationally.  If you're wondering what's the big deal?  Here's how it affects you:  since social networking sites have progressively modified their terms of service to suite their business needs ~ such as granting themselves permission to sell your information to advertisers ~ shouldn't we be able to use social media sites to sell stuff as well?  In the case of Facebook, Twitter, and Google+, the answer is no.  At least not without their permission...which usually includes a fee of some sort.  In other words: we get to use all the cool features of social networking sites as long as we grant social networking companies the right to make money off of all the content we post by selling it to advertisers for an undisclosed amount.  Are we getting the short end of the deal?
3. Your Location-Based Data is ALWAYS ON!
   If you have a smartphone, whether it be an iPhone, Android, Windows Mobile or yes...even a Blackberry, these companies have access to all of your data.  Yes, EVERYTHING from personal contacts, text messages, apps, web searches, purchases, and of course location-based data.  Even if you turn off notifications and location-based services, phone manufacturers are secretly downloading monthly, weekly, and even daily backups of the information you store on your phone...without much of a mention on their user service agreements.  Even Congress has caught wind of this business practice and called the two big-time players to a hearing last year.  Why would phone manufactures want all of your information?  The same reason social networking sites want it: to find a way to make money off of it.