The digital world
The idea that our lives are being digitally archived is nothing new, IDC says we have already reached 1.2 zettabytes by the end of 2010. As I watch those on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+, I am amazed at how much people will put online.
Sure, some may just not care, but they also don’t realize that with all the data mining, they can build a digital profile of your life. Your likes, dislikes, loves, hates, etc.. Some may smirk at this thought, as they have some illusion that they are only sharing with their friends. Well, don’t full yourself, Facebook is data mining you, Google data mines you, everyone does for that matter. That is how the online advertising space determines what advertisements to give to you.
Do you login to Facebook, and then go to other websites? Many sites have agreements with Facebook, in an effort to monopolize on the social media data warehousing. Ever notice the “Like” button, or the +1 buttons? If you logged into Facebook, and did not log out, Facebook already knows you are on those sites.
Think of it like the grocery cards you use at your food stores, where they mark up the price to encourage you to use your shoppers card. Don’t kid yourself, they are data mining all these shopping habits to learn about you, the customer. They have even used the club cards as evidence during criminal investigations, don’t get me wrong, you do something bad you should face consequences, but, should it be that easy to track you?
So, do we just give up on privacy? I would like to think not, but perhaps some have. As I see all the unsociable people walking around with their faces buried in their digital devices, it would seem that people are oblivious to the normal world and would rather live in the digital world where everything is tracked, and everyone knows exactly what you are doing.
Yes, I have a Facebook account, no I don’t post to it very often, and normally it is something so inconsequential that it is meaningless. Perhaps I do this subconsciously to screw with the data mining and profiling, I’d rather not be assimilated.
. I suspect it may take time for everyone to use the new server, DNS does have to expire after all. But, this is now on my dedicate box hosted at ISC.
