Most CEO’s have handlers. Not ours (well, not yet).

We invite you to connect with our CEO Derek Hoffman at his official Facebook page. At our page you can exchange comments with thousands of high level professionals in all areas of business. You will also find lots of intelligent conversation regarding the economy and markets.

Alright. Don’t wait any longer … click here to join our inner circle.

(While you’re at it, you might as well sign up for our RSS feed too.)

JetBlue (Nasdaq: JBLU) flight attendant Steven Slater is a bad ass. After Slater was treated like crap by some idiot who thought they had the right to be a jerk because they paid a few bucks for a plane ticket, Slater made a Hollywood exit from the plane after putting the passenger in place, apologizing to the other passengers, grabbing two beers, then sliding down the emergency chute like the Dude in The Big Lebowski.

Shortly thereafter, Slater became a pop culture hit. The insta-legend virally spread across the Internet and suddenly hordes of people started poking Slater on Facebook. Apparently, millions of service professionals could relate to the infamous bad attitude of American consumers.

Leave it to the completely uncreative people in the mainstream media to hyperventilate and offer Slater his own reality TV show. The show will allegedly focus on disgruntled workers quitting their jobs in entertaining ways. Seriously? Are these people living on another planet where unemployment data is not regulary on the front page of the newspaper?

If the media turns Slater into a hero during one of the worst recessions in a century, they may actually succeed in irresponsibly convincing people (fortunate enough to have a job) to catalyze a personal tragedy. As we know, the general public is not known for thinking too far ahead of their actions. A few examples include taking out unaffordable mortgages, running up credit card debt, and watching 101 Dalmatians then adopting dogs which are extremely hard to domesticate (only to return them in flocks). [Feel free to add some more examples in the Comment section below.]

Assuming Slater’s new show hits the airwaves, we’re screwed. The Labor Department is already reporting five unemployed persons competing for every one job opening.

I applaud workers who demand respect, but how about putting this show idea in the queue for when the economy is roaring and job opportunities are plentiful? Let’s not make this the Black Swan that kicks the unemployment rate into another dimension. If we do, then we’ll need a real hero to save us.

After writing “Are You Scared of Advertisers Mining Your Facebook Account?“, I wanted to know how you felt despite Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s claim their privacy policy is “misunderstood.”

Our poll results are in. Here is how a sampling of you answered the question “Are you bothered by Facebook’s use of your information?”

58% said, “Yes, I don’t want advertisers or strangers accessing my private life.“

28% said, “Yes, Facebook bills itself as a service to maintain private connections, so they need to find a better biz model.”

12% said, “No, I agreed to their privacy terms when I signed up.”

2% said, “No, I don’t care who sees my personal information.”

0% said, “No, they need to make money.”

Thanks for sharing your thoughts! Now check out how you can adjust your privacy settings on Facebook.

The big privacy scare on Facebook has come and gone like every other mainstream meme. However, I think we have more reason to be afraid and I’d like to see a nonprofit alternative compete.

The other night I was watching TV when a Pampers (NYSE: PG) ad caught my attention like Winston Smith’s in 1984. The ad so closely related to my wife’s experience with our new born daughter, it felt more like a mirror of collective experiences from new mothers on Facebook. Then, at the end of the commercial the voice invited mothers to join Pamper’s Facebook group.

Ah-ha! Pampers has set up a little lab for new mothers so they can directly watch them like little rats in a cage. They can mine their data and have anthropologists and neuroscientists recommend how best to make an emotional connection that will encourage consumption.

None of this is new to the world of marketing. Marketers have been doing brain scan research since at least 2004 when Coke (NYSE: KO) versus Pepsi (NYSE: PEP) Challenge participants wore brain imaging devices while sipping their favorite sugary drinks. However, the depth and breadth of private data being exploited is unprecedented — and, in my humble opinion, scary.

I don’t mind marketing. It’s a natural part of society. However, I am deeply disturbed that advertisements may become so directly correlated to our most primal vulnerabilities that the idea of free choice in the marketplace will become as big a joke as free speech in North Korea. We’re not talking about reading your Jungian symbols or tea leaves — we’re talking about real Pavlovian conditioning and programming.

Facebook is a private internet within the Internet. I like to think of it as its own virtual country. It has its own citizens, rules, and executive branch. Much like a fascist state, it also has complete control of all the information within the virtual country. Although you may not allow strangers to see all your private information, advertisers are paying top dollar for Facebook’s data.

Personally, I would like to see an ambitious group of social entrepreneurs create the world’s first user controlled social media community. It may not become as large as Facebook, but we need an alternative for those who still care about privacy.

It’s one thing for Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) to recommend books based on what I read. It’s another entirely for advertisers to have access to the intimate details of my personal life. I like watching Don Draper on Mad Men, but I prefer not letting him watch me. But maybe I am becoming old-fashioned.

Do you mind your most personal data being mined and sold? Let us know in the comments below …

Wall Street and Silicon Valley always need something hot. Although unemployment is high and optimism resembles the scenes at the start of an anti-depressant commercial, we have found 5 CEOs who are building companies which haven’t stopped to notice the recession …

1) Dennis Crowley — CEO Foursquare

Foursquare is a location-based social networking website, involving an application for mobile devices and a game intended for registered users. Through mobile websites, text messaging, or device-specific applications, people are able to update their location and connect with friends, while earning rewards for their online activity. The company is “so hot right now” because it is in the process of adding on a new promotion. Barbie, the iconic fashion doll manufactured by Mattel (NYSE: MAT), will be used by Foursquare to advertise location-based scavenger hunts. Text, photo and video clues for the hunts will be provided by Barbie through the use of Twitter. This promotion, officially happening on July 20th, 2010 is an example of how Mattel has been able to expand into the digital and social media world of the 21st century.

An American Internet entrepreneur, Dennis Crowley graduated in 1998 with a B.A. from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, and also in 2004 with a Master’s degree from New York University’s Interactive Telecommunications Program. While attending NYU, he co-founded Dodgeball, a location-based social networking service used by mobile devices. Four years after Dodgeball was acquired by Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) in 2005, Crowley developed Foursquare as a second version of the original Dodgeball service. In 2005, MIT’s Technology Review magazine named him one of the “Top 35 Innovators Under 35.” His work has been followed by major news organizations, such as MTV (NYSE: VIA-B), NBC (NYSE: GE), Newsweek, The New York Times (NYSE: NYT), Slashdot, Time Magazine, The Wall Street Journal (NYSE: NWSA) and Wired. Currently, Crowley is an Adjunct Professor for NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program.

2) Andrew Mason — CEO Groupon

Groupon is an electronic commerce website, offering a single type of product for sale at a discounted rate every 24 hours. These daily deals, made possible through collective buying power, feature what is best to buy, do, eat, and see in over 50 cities throughout the United States and Canada. The company is “so hot right now” because of its May 2010 acquisition of MyCityDeal, a European website offering similar services. The collaboration has made the newly formed Groupon MyCityDeal the largest group buying site in the world, active in 18 countries and 140 cities, reaching the US, Canada, UK, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Sweden, Poland, The Netherlands, Denmark, Ireland, Finland, and Turkey. Currently, its staff consists of over 900 employees, working around the globe.

Growing up in a suburb of Pittsburgh, Andrew Mason showed a talent for creative organizing. At 15 years old, he started Bagel Express, a delivery service done on Saturday mornings. After graduating in 2003 from Northwestern University with a degree in music, he worked in web design under Chicago serial entrepreneur Eric Lefkofsky. In September 2006, Mason left his employment to accept a scholarship to the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy. In pursuit of a business idea, he began to work on creating a web-based platform, organizing collective action based on a tipping point. Learning of the project, Lefkofsky offered to supply $1 million in funding. Mason accepted his offer, and dropped out of school to develop The Point, a web platform launched in November 2007. With some modification, he followed the basic premise of The Point to create Groupon, which debuted in November 2008.

3) Tony Hsieh — CEO Zappos

Zappos is an online retailer, selling shoes, handbags and purses, eyewear, watches and accessories, apparel, and electronic devices and media, such as DVDs. Through RSS feeds, Zappos publishes information about the latest products and styles, with each product having an image of the latest styles, a description of what is advertised, and a link leading to the product webpage. The company is “so hot right now” because it was acquired in November 2009 by Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) for a reported $1.2 billion. In an all-stock deal, Zappos investors and other shareholders exchanged their shares for approximately 10 million Amazon shares. This acquisition will allow Amazon to aggressively expand into the sale of apparel, and benefit from a fiercely loyal customer base.

The son of Taiwanese immigrants, Tony Hsieh graduated in 1995 from Harvard University with a B.A. in Computer Science. During the first year after graduation, he worked as a Software Engineer at Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL), a provider of business software and hardware systems. In 1996, Hsieh co-founded Link Exchange (Internet advertising network), for which he served on the Board of Directors, was responsible for some of the company’s major technologies, and sold to Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) in 1999 for $265 million. After the sale of Link Exchange, he got originally involved with Zappos, working as an advisor and investor. In 2000, he joined the company as CEO.

4) Mark Pincus — CEO Zynga

Zynga is an online network of gaming applications, offering a variety of games that are found on many social networks and websites. Users are able to invite friends to play with them, and chat while playing. The company is “so hot right now” because of its developing partnership with Google, which is due to launch its new brand Google Games later this year. Google has recently invested $100-$200 million of venture capital in Zynga, after having raised $500 million. With the upcoming partnership, Zynga will become the cornerstone of Google Games, giving it a solid base to build on, made up of social games and users. The joining of these two powerful companies could change the future of online gaming.

Before his career as an entrepreneur, Mark Pincus worked in venture capital and financial services. He graduated with a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and with an MBA from Harvard Business School. After graduation from Harvard, he worked from 1993-1994 as a manager of corporate development at Tele-Communications, Inc., now AT&T Cable (NYSE: T). From 1994-1995, Pincus served as Vice President of Columbia Capital, leading investments in new media and software startups. In 1995, he launched his first company, a web-based push technology service named Freeloader, Inc. His second company, a provider for service and support automation software known as Support.com, was started in August 1997, and went public in July 2000. In 2003, Pincus founded his third company, Tribe.net, a social network partnering with major local newspapers, backed by The Washington Post (NYSE: WPO), Knight Ridder Digital, and Mayfield Fund. Pincus founded Zynga in 2007, and currently serves as its CEO and Chief Product Officer.

5) Jeremy Stoppelman — CEO Yelp

Yelp is a web site that advertises listings, ratings, and reviews of local businesses through an online community, giving consumers the opportunity to share their opinions, and business owners the chance to give contact information. Through Yelp, people find help in choosing where to eat, drink, shop, relax and play, at no cost to use (other than certain advertising features on the site). The company is “so hot right now” because of its June 2010 integration with OpenTable, a feature that allows any logged-in Yelp user to make a restaurant reservation directly from a review page. In the form of a pop-up, this option is linked to many business listings already on Yelp. Currently offering Dining Reward Points, OpenTable accepts reservations for almost 11,000 restaurants, all located within the United States.

Interested in entrepreneurship, Jeremy Stoppelman graduated from the University of Illinois with a B.S. in computer engineering, and attended Harvard Business School. From 1999-2000, he worked as a Software Engineer for Excite@Home (provider of broadband Internet access), designing and implementing various website features. Stoppelman was with Paypal (Internet alternative for payment and money transfer) from 2000-2003, holding various positions in engineering and engineering management, ultimately making Vice President. After joining an incubator for a summer internship, he was reunited with colleague Russel Simmons, and teamed up with him to create a community around local information. Yelp was co-founded in 2004, with Stoppelman as CEO.

Think some other CEOs are OMG Hot!, let us know in the comments below …

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg discusses privacy and sharing at the D8 Conference:

As you can see, Facebook, Google Maps (Nasdaq: GOOG), YouTube, Pandora, and Weather Channel (NYSE: GE) dominate the app scene on the iPhone (Nasdaq: AAPL), Blackberry (Nasdaq: RIMM), and Android phones.

(Source: Mashable)

Facebook just made it a whole lot easier to put your account on a total privacy lockdown.Here’s how to do it in 13 steps. (Previously, it took over 30!)

Go to Facebook.com and drag the “account” menu on the top right to “Privacy settings.”

Click “Friends Only.”

Click “Apply These Settings”

Now click “applications and Web sites.”

In the menu across from Games and application activity, drag and drop to “friend only”

Click “edit settings” across from “info accessible through your friends”

Uncheck all the boxes and click “save changes”

Click “edit settings” across from “Instant personalization.”

Uncheck the box at the bottom and click “confirm”

Click “back to applications,” because we’re not done.

Click “edit settings” across from “public search”

Uncheck “enable public search”

Click “confirm.” Now we’re done!

Read more cool posts at The Business Insider >

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his company are suddenly facing a big new round of scrutiny and criticism about their cavalier attitude toward user privacy.

An early instant messenger exchange Mark had with a college friend won’t help put these concerns to rest.

According to SAI sources, the following exchange is between a 19-year-old Mark Zuckerberg and a friend shortly after Mark launched The Facebook in his dorm room:

Zuck: Yeah so if you ever need info about anyone at Harvard

Zuck: Just ask.

Zuck: I have over 4,000 emails, pictures, addresses, SNS

[Redacted Friend's Name]: What? How’d you manage that one?

Zuck: People just submitted it.

Zuck: I don’t know why.

Zuck: They “trust me”

Zuck: Dumb fucks.

Brutal.

Could Mark have been completely joking? Sure. But the exchange does reveal that Facebook’s aggressive attitude toward privacy may have begun early on.

Since Facebook launched, the company has faced one privacy flap after another, usually following changes to the privacy policy or new product releases.  To its credit, the company has often modified its products based on such feedback.  As the pioneer in a huge new market, Facebook will take heat for everything it does.  It has also now grown into a $22 billion company run by adults who know that their future depends on Facebook users trusting the site’s privacy policy.

But the company’s attitude toward privacy, as reflected in Mark’s early emails and IMs, features like Beacon and Instant Personalization, and the frequent changes to the privacy policy, has been consistently aggressive: Do something first, then see how people react.

And this does appear to reflect Mark’s own views of privacy, which seem to be that people shouldn’t care about it as much as they do — an attitude that very much reflects the attitude of his generation.

After all, here’s what early Facebook engineering boss, Harvard alum, and Zuckerberg confidant Charlie Cheever said in David Kirkpatrick’s brilliantly-reported upcoming book The Facebook Effect.

“I feel Mark doesn’t believe in privacy that much, or at least believes in privacy as a stepping stone. Maybe he’s right, maybe he’s wrong.”

Again in Kirkpatrick’s book, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg puts it this way:

“Mark really does believe very much in transparency and the vision of an open society and open world, and so he wants to push people that way. I think he also understands that the way to get there is to give people granular control and comfort. He hopes you’ll get more open, and he’s kind of happy to help you get there. So for him, it’s more of a means to an end. For me, I’m not as sure.”

Facebook declined to comment about Mark’s attitude toward privacy.

Facebook has made all kinds of privacy changes lately.

It’s made some users uncomfortable and, thanks to a couple poorly-timed screw-ups, Facebook is getting a lot of heat about the changes from Senators, media, and watchdog organizations.

We don’t think any of that will ever cause you to quit Facebook. You love what Facebook does for you too much to quit.

But if you’re going to stay on Facebook, you should definitely know how to keep your information private.

Go to Facebook.com. Click on the drop-down “account” menu in the top right corner. Drag to “privacy settings.”

Click “personal information and posts.”

For each of the 7 drop-down menus on the right, click and drag to “only friends.”

Uncheck the box next to “Friends can post on my Wall”

On the “photo albums” line, click “edit settings” on the right.

Along with your profile photos, each of the albums you’ve ever uploaded will have a drop down menu. Click and drag to “Only friends” for each

Click the “Privacy” link on the top left. We’re not close to done yet.

Click “contact information.”

Click on each of the 9 drop-down menus not called “add me as a friend” and drag to “only friends.” For “add me as a friend,” select “friends of friends.”

Click “Back To Privacy” to go back on the Privacy Settings page. There, click “Friends, Tags and Connections”

Select “only friends” in all 10 drop-down menus

Click “Back To Privacy” to go back on the Privacy Settings page. There, click “Applications and Websites.”

On the top line, click “learn more”

Learn it: When you use Facebook in apps on other Websites, you are giving your info to those apps and Web sites.

So let’s go back to Applications and Websites and make sure that doesn’t happen when you don’t want it to

Click “edit settings” on the second line, next to “What your friends can share about you”

Uncheck every box and click “save changes.”

Go back to Applications and Websites

Click on the drop-down menu across from “Activity on Applications and Games Dashboards.” Select “only friends.”

On the last line, click “edit settings” for “Instant Personalization Pilot Program”

Uncheck the check-box. Click confirm.

Click “Applications and Websites.”

Click “Back to Privacy.” We’re still not done.

Click “Search” on the second to last line.

Select “only friends” for “Facebook Search Results”

Uncheck “allow” next to “Public Search Results”

Click “confirm.” Sorry, Facebook. This is a total lockdown.

Click “Back To Privacy”

It’s time to test your lock down. Click “Personal Information and Posts”

Click “Preview My Profile”

Enter various Facebook users’ names to see how each will view your profile. We’re worried about what “Jay Yarow” can see.

Facebook will show you what your friends can see. If all looks good, then congratulations…

Your Facebook profile is on a privacy LOCKDOWN!

But now you have to worry about converting your profiles “likes and interests” from private text into public membership in “community” groups.

For more like this, check out The Business Insider >