Similarly, Facebook and Twitter send login credentials over a secure line and then revert to an unsecure protocol. (Users of those social networks can add an "s" after "http" to force the systems to encrypt their browsing.) Social networking sites are where people increasingly conduct private conversations, whether through Facebook's Messages or Twitter's Direct Message feature.

CNN: Why Google's data collection snafu could be good for Gmail

"Our allies might be big software systems that want to add functions, or social networking companies, " says Renert.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Still more creative early-detection systems will begin to pull together illness information present in social-networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, allowing us to see changing disease patterns before they make the morning news.

ECONOMIST: Science

The day of Facebook's IPO, Nasdaq's systems got caught in a loop while lining up orders before the social-networking company's shares started trading.

WSJ: Nasdaq Talks Settlement in Facebook IPO

Sure, a fingerprint will identify a user to his or her systems, but what about the possibility of connecting a fingerprint to an iTunes account, a social networking or job-hunting site, or even a credit card number?

FORBES: Apple Acquires AuthenTec: A Fingerprint as a Key?