Does It Really Matter if Someone Steals Your 'Digital Footprint'?

 

I, along with you are creating a new cottage industry targeted at us focused on managing, or even erasing, my ‘digital footprint.’ Because I continually create a presence on new sites then promptly forget about them.

Icorrect, QuickRepair, Personal, SafetyWeband MyID.com, for example promise some form of online protection, at a price based on the fear that someone can steal your Digital Footprint, reputation, identity. The services “continuously monitor” your online presence and alert you when something occurs

But is a Facebook account or your name appearing in a Google search really something to be concerned about and why should you part with some hard-earned money?

Time magazine writer Joel Stein, for one, thinks not. In an extensive story on the topic, Stein offered himself up as an example, having data-mining companies like RapLeaf, EXelate, and Intellidyn dig into his files, researching his own profiles with ad-targeting companies from Google to Yahoo! and paying online privacy firms to clear his ‘digital footprint’ for him.

Stein’s takeaway?  It’s all more hype than necessity.