"Relying on the government to protect your privacy is like asking a peeping tom to install your window blinds." (John Perry Barlow)
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We are in the age of information, where knowledge is power and your profile is king/queen. The internets (that one's for you, Dubya) is vast and ever-expanding. If you have access to technology, more than likely you will have one, some or all of the following:
- An e-mail address (or five)
- A web site
- A blog
- A Facebook page (if you're over twenty)
- A MySpace page (if you don't know better)
- A Twitter account
Yes, your privacy. Everything you are, translated into bytes of raw data and sold off as a commodity.
It's unavoidable. It's already happened.
That's not right, you say. The Constitution guarantees my right to privacy.
Nuh-uh.
I did a bet with someone regarding that very same statement. You can do this, too, kids. Do a Google search on the word Constitution and pick one of the links (I went here). Use the Find command on your browser (you can press Ctrl+F on your keyboard to bring it up). Type in the word "privacy."
It didn't find anything? Surprise, surprise.
(By the way, I got two lunches for winning the bet.)
Privacy is not a guaranteed right. It is somewhat implied, since the Declaration of Independence gives us "certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
We, the People, like privacy. It makes us feel safe and secure to know that things we like to do is not on display for the public to know. If you like to walk around naked, it's great as long as you do it in your own home. I personally don't want to know about it, which makes privacy a beautiful thing. What you read, write, and do that makes you happy should be personal and sacred, which is what privacy affords all of us.
But in this day and age, privacy is no longer the precious commodity it used to be. With a click of a mouse, a user willingly (but without their knowledge -- what a paradox, huh) leaves bread crumbs behind that can tell people who can interpret those bread crumbs all they need to know about you. Where you shop, what kind of clothes you like to buy, what color you like, and many other assorted information that, in whole, describes you.
Want a 10% discount coupon? Subscribe to this newsletter. Then you wonder what caused your mailbox to get 25 spam messages... an hour.
Want to know when the special sales begin? Subscribe here. Oh, boy. Spam went up to 60 messages now.
You did it.
That's not even mentioning the fact that everyone and their mother is looking for their 15 minutes of fame. Or 140 characters, in Twitter's case. Minute after minute, second after second, someone's telling everyone about their business. TMI taboos are being broken in megabits-per-second speed. C'mon, do I really need to know about the really embarrassing things that celebrities want to let their followers know?
Fun fact #1: The Library of Congress is now archiving Twitter feeds so that future generations can view the social culture of the 21st century. Run. Hide. Now. The Terminators are coming.
Fun fact #2: As of May 2010, Britney Spears has more followers (4,952,552) than Ashton Kutcher (4,945,544).
In the age of information, knowledge is money. And you are worth a lot. Companies pay for this information. Think about it: if you knew that a certain product you sold is desired by 30% of all internet users out there, you can make a killing.
They pay for it. You give it away for free.
Common sense says that because who you are is worth something, you should have some control over how that information is distributed. After all, knowledge is power, right? Oftentimes, the problem is that most common users don't have the knowledge, hence they lack the power to fix the problem.
One of the most recent offenders against privacy is Facebook, which has 400 million active users. Over the years, Facebook has changed their policy several times. Now, they are getting ready to roll out yet another change that would force all of its users to opt-in for privacy instead of automatically having it and getting a lot of heat for it. In layman's terms, it's like renting an apartment, then having to tell the landlord that you need a door and closable windows.
Fun fact #3: Facebook's privacy policy is 5,830 words long. The Constitution, without the amendments, is 4,543.
I found an article that helps to navigate the treacherous waters of Facebook privacy settings. It's a good read and will help provide you, the user, with knowledge (which equals power) to help yourself. Then I order you to Google search ways to keep your electronic privacy.
Take back what is yours. I double dare you.
Oh, and in case you need motivation:
And tell your Friends. Or Followers. Or... whatever they're called.
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