Yesterday, the security company WebRoot came out with a study discovering similar results. After surveying 1,500+ social network users with geolocation-ready mobile devices, WebRoot found that more than half (55%) of respondents fear the loss of security and privacy, and 45% are very concerned about letting potential burglars know when they’re away from home (ah yes, the now shut down PleaseRobMe experiment comes to mind).

What’s most interesting to us is that 39% of those surveyed by Webroot said they use geolocation services, but take a look at the number of people that have fallen prey to social network cyber-criminals:

• Nearly a quarter of respondents (22.4 percent) were victims of a phishing attempt to steal their social network password.
• About one in six (16 percent) reported a malware infection in the past year that originated from a social networking site.
• One in nine reported at least one of their social network accounts had been compromised or hijacked.

Even in the face of these risks, many consumers admitted to engaging in risky behaviors:

• Nearly one third (31 percent) accepted a friend request from a stranger.
• A majority (76 percent) clicked a link sent or posted by a friend on a social network site.
• Twenty-nine percent have shared their geolocation with people other than their friends.
• One in nine used a location-based tool to meet a stranger (e.g. check out Scout – the new dating LB app)

While we all get excited when new features (like geo-lo) are added to Twitter, Facebook and other social networks (I know I do!), it’s worth taking a step back and thinking about the potential dangers of giving away so much personal information. So, why do you check-in? What do you see as the primary motivators for doing so? Are they worth the risks?

To add more fuel to the fire, today the company Sophos, which surveyed 500+ organizations, came out with a new report stating that in the past year:

• 57% of users report they have been spammed via social networking sites
• 36% of users claim they’ve been sent malware via social networking sites
• 72% of survey respondents think social networks are a danger for their companies (see Mashable article)

What’s the solution? Tina Fey, in her show “30 Rock,” recently spoofed social networks with her creation of “YouFace” (combo of Facebook & MySpace). Terms such as “finger-tagged,” “weirdsie,” and “pho-lo” (for photo and hello) had many ROFL. See video clip after the bump!

But let’s be serious for a moment. Are these sites glorified chat rooms (as Alec Baldwin would have us believe)? Or have they become so critical to communicating with the media, customers, partners, prospects and investors, that blocking them would be catastrophic to your business?

Although the former makes for a great show, I have to side with the latter. So, can we keep our community-centric apps without posing security threats to our companies?

But what will separate crowdsourcing’s winners and losers in 2010?  We believe that crowdsourcing success lies in a company’s ability to engage its community in unique and meaningful ways. These are the crowdsourcing companies that are changing the way work is done today — transforming professional services like software testing forever. But how does a company go beyond building a “mob” or a “crowd” and develop a community?

VOTE HERE to learn more about how crowdsourcing is changing the way work is done.

We’d love the opportunity to share our hard-earned keys to building a successful crowdsourcing business at this year’s Enterprise 2.0 Conference in Boston. But first, we need your help! (Very quick registration required.)

You can see a snapshot of uTest’s proposed presentation on the voting site. Voting opens today and closes on January 20th. As always, thanks for your continued support. All of our success stems from our amazing community!

Quick Update: If you’re posting online, #e2conf is the official tag! To track votes, click here.

So if you like the uTest blog, this is your chance to cast your vote and  support uTest and our community. Here’s how it works:

1. Go to http://mashable.com/owa/votes. (You must be signed into your Facebook or Twitter account.)
2. Then simply Nominate: http://blog.utest.com for Category: “Best Corporate Blog”
3. Voting is once per day, so please don’t be shy!

Thanks in advance for your help, and keep your fingers crossed for another big win for uTest and our community! Send us a note with any questions.

If you’re in the area, it’s a good event.  We’ll be there, so if you see a uTest name tag, tap us on the shoulder and introduce yourself.  These monthly launch parties are great because they’re FREE for everyone and connect innovators & entrepreneurs with the media, the marketplace and each other using social media. So help spread the word!

The Twitter hashtag is #MIN7, and twitterville is already buzzing with news and cool attendees. Tonight, startups and larger companies alike will showcase new products to a live audience. Check out tonight’s October innovators.

Networking starts at 6:00 p.m. and the main event runs from 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.  And if you find you just can’t pull yourself away, there’s an after-party at Biagio’s, 123 Moody Street, upstairs in the Plush Lounge.

Shoot us a note if you’d like to meet up!

A big thank you to our partner Boston Interactive for helping us incorporate a more human face to uTest’s website and revamping it to reflect uTest’s community-centric business model.

As you know, we relaunched our website back in May 2009, and four months later, we’re already receiving high honors for it! Now in its 13th year, the WebAwards is the premier annual website award competition that names the best websites while setting the standard of excellence for all website development.

During this year’s competition, more than 2,000 sites from 45 countries were nominated in 96 industry categories. Entries were judged on design, copy writing, innovation, content, interactivity, navigation, and use of technology.

The new uTest website has enabled us to bring the real-world stories of our customers and testers to the forefront of the web experience to increase visibility into uTest’s global testing community of 19,000+ and enhance collaboration among software professionals worldwide. We’re honored to be among this year’s winners!

To see all 2009 award wins, check out uTest’s Awards Page!

Stemming from the bestselling book groundswell by Forrester analysts Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff, the Groundswell Awards recognize the year’s most innovative social platforms.

VOTE HERE!

With uTest’s recent website relaunch and the addition of community-centric apps (like “Meet the Testers”), discussion threads, forums, and social networking sites, we think we have a good shot, but we need your support.

See the full submission here for a quick refresher on our latest social technologies: http://www.utest.com/my-forrester-groundswell-award.

As you know, the social web has led to a dramatic increase in online platforms that create business value and enable social connections, including crowdsourcing models such as uTest.

uTest’s new website and online platform increase visibility, enhance collaboration and information sharing and highlight the human face of software testing with community-centric apps, including:

• “Meet TheTesters”
• Discussion Threads
• Community Forums
• Software Testing Blog
• Social Networking Sites

Since adding these new collaboration tools, the uTest software testing marketplace has grown 30% quarter-over-quarter; and the uTest community has increased to total more than 19,000 testers in 155 countries worldwide.

Thanks in advance to our tester community, customers and social networks for your support!

Unless you’ve been asleep, in a coma, or camping in the wilderness for the past two years, you’re likely aware that the Twitterverse is expanding at a mind boggling rate (thanks, Ashton and Oprah). And since hundreds of apps have been created around the popular micro-blogging site, we figured they’d make a perfect subject for our now famous Bug Battle. Here are the Twitter apps we’ll be testing, in no particular order:

1.    Tweet Deck 0.25
2.    Seesmic DESKTOP
3.    Twhirl 0.9.2
4.    Tweetr 3.4
5.    Twitterific 3.2 (mac only)
6.    Twitteroo 1.5 (pc only)

The contest kicks off RIGHT NOW (12:01am ET on Thursday) and will run through 11:59pm ET next Wednesday, June 3rd.

During that time, members of our QA community will be searching for the most serious, compelling bugs they can find, including technical, functional and GUI bugs. uTesters can focus their efforts on as many or as few of these as they choose.  We will be awarding more than $3,000 in prize money for:

* Top overall tester (based on quality of bugs and feedback)
* Top novice tester (same criteria)
* Top US-based tester (same)
* Top five individual bugs (severity and complexity)
* Best feedback (post-contest survey about the feature set, functionality and usability)

You can get more info on the Twitter Bug Battle. To find out how you – yes you! – can win the money finding bugs in these Twitter applications, be sure to check out the Bug Battle thread in our testers-only forums.

Have questions or ideas for future Bug Battles? Drop us a comment. Want to keep up with the Bug Battle action while it’s going on?  We’ll be sharing real-time updates throughout the weeklong Twitter contest on (where else?) Twitter.

Visit our Bug Battle homepage for more details.  Also, make sure you read our Tips to Win the Bug Battle.

So if you’re a uTester, get started today.  And if you’re not yet a uTester, join our community and take part in the fun.  Good luck!

After a great deal of discussion with bloggers, analysts and members of our testing community, we’ve selected a fun and high-profile “battleground”:  Social networking sites.

Join other uTesters from around the world in testing the application quality and usability of the top three social networks:  Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace.

The contest begins Wednesday, Feb 11th and runs through Tuesday, Feb 17th.  uTest will once again be awarding $3,000 in prize money for:

• Top overall tester (based on quantity and quality of bugs and feedback)
• Top novice tester (same criteria)
• Top individual bugs in each of the sites (highest profile, most interesting, most severe)
• Best feedback (about the feature set, functionality and usability)

See complete details for the uTest Social Networking Bug Battle.  Get ready to hunt some bugs, make some serious money, and be recognized as one of the top testers in the community!

Have questions or ideas for future Bug Battles?  Drop us a comment.