Independence Day

Happy Independence Day!

So, how independent do you feel?

Most people enjoy the freedom and independence of the Internet. You can go anywhere, read anything, watch anything, listen to anything, almost limitless freedom to do what you please.

On the Internet we make many choices... what to read, what to write/post, what to download, what to watch, what to subscribe to, what to bookmark, what to join, and so on.

We reveal who we are by the choices we make.

An example of these revealed patterns is the previous post on political book purchases.

Yet, as we enjoy the freedom of the net, we are being watched, tracked, mapped and analyzed. We leave a clear set of digital footprints everywhere we go and now we even have GPS and our cell phones to track us off the net. We are not as free nor as independent as we think. It is not just about privacy, but about freedom to choose and the freedom to act.

The precipice we are on, was revealed this past week when a Judge ruled that Google had to hand over, in a legal case, all of the log-in identities and IP addresses [if you have a cable modem you have a static IP address that can be easily tracked to your household] of the computers accessing material on YouTube. Yes, a record of your personal ID and everything you have watched. Wonder what patterns a marketer, psychologist, investigator, or worse -- a hacker, would find in your video choices?

"....for each instance a video is watched, the unique "login ID"
of the user who watched it, the time when the user started to watch
the video, the internet protocol address other devices connected to
the internet use to identify the user's computer ("IP address"), and
the identifier for the video."

We reveal who we are by the choices we make.

Google, is resisting the release of the information -- they would prefer to anonymize the user data before handing it over. Viacom, the other party in the suit, is working with Google and the Judge to minimize any use of your private information. The Judge has stipulated that Viacom can not use the data for marketing, nor harassing you for watching John Stewart on YouTube, instead of their preferred channel. This is a good thing.

We are walking a thin line here. It is just a matter of time before the dots that can not be currently connected, will be connected in the future -- and the key dot is your verified identity. Your autonomy will erode. Your behavior will change. Those being watched act different.

We reveal who we are by the choices we make.

Today's marketing and junk mail is based on obvious connections gathered from public information. Tomorrow's marketing and tracking will be based on private information derived from the choices you make, connected to your various on-line and off-line identities. You will be figuratively naked in front of people you do not even know. Such scrutiny will not just affect privacy, but your autonomy of choice and action.

So, on this Independence Day, be independent, yet be careful.