Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Privacy in the Digital Age

I don't consider myself paranoid in fact, I am probably more trusting than the average person. But I have begun to wonder how much of my personal life is stored on computers around the world. Who might be looking at it and why?

Durff got me thinking about it again this week after reading his post, Privacy - Right or Privilege. I think privacy should be a right, but is it one that we are giving away bit by bit in our online practice?

How many times have you clicked that little "I agree to privacy policy" button without understanding all the legalese that scrolled by on my screen. I have lost count.

I keep my calendar online on AirSet. I compose documents on GoogleDocs. I store pictures on any number of photo sites. There are little bits of me spread all over cyberspace. And I used to think that was no big deal, because no one would go to the trouble to gather it all up and use it? Maybe I was wrong about that.

Watch parts four and five of Frontline's "Spying on the Home Front." Every time you use your credit card, you leave a digital footprint on a database.

And what about the information that you post to a digital networking site? Watch this video about the rights that FaceBook retains for tracking information about its users.

I think management of privacy will be a pivotal issue for the continued growth of Web 2.0 and automation.

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3 comments:

MV said...

The question of privacy in this digital age, deserves attention. But when technology develops, methods of mind reading also may be developed, I think; and then the only way out of the chaos will be to develop simultaneously, ways of maintaining universal trust and harmony.

Durff said...

Hi Laura! I'm mrs durff.

Laura B. Fogle said...

MV,
I appreciate your optimistic view. I share it mostly. If we try too hard to protect ourselves we will lose many opportunities, but unfortunately some people will always try to take personal advantage. We have to weigh what are reasonable protections and then trust the rest.

Laura B. Fogle