Email Mining Software No Slam-Dunk

Some employees balk at sharing contacts with co-workers
By Jonas Oransky,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 21, 2008 7:31 PM CDT
Email Mining Software No Slam-Dunk
   (Getty Images)

Software that allows co-workers to share customer and client information without the initial contact's explicit permission is catching on, overcoming worries about privacy that initially kept the applications from gaining traction, the Wall Street Journal reports. One exec who saw "a very harsh reaction from people who viewed it as a Big Brother-type system" at his previous job is having less trouble this time around.

The software is “able to infer where people have relationships, based on their electronic vapor trail of activities” and can even discern how strong those relationships are, says the founder of one of the major players in the relatively new field. Many workers are crying foul, even though the creators stress that privacy controls can give employees a say in how their information is used. (More privacy stories.)

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