My Digital FootPrint

My free Metro this AM carried a story about Facebook being a threat to the Internet and the register is running a similar story   http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/11/20/berners_lee_says_facebook_a_thret_to_web/ based on an Interview in Scientific American journal. It appears that Sir Tim Berners-Lee (read Open Web) is hitting out at all social networks for not sharing information.  "Facebook and others encourage users to enter their information ... So the more you enter, the more you become locked in,’ says Sir Tim  'The more this kind of architecture gains widespread use, the more the web becomes fragmented – and the less we enjoy a single, universal information space. The threat to Internet freedom comes from enclosing data in corporate-governed online spaces – such as ‘apps’ – instead of linking pages fluidly and allowing knowledge to transcend businesses and borders. ‘You can access an iTunes link only using Apple’s patented iTunes programme,’ said Sir Tim, who

Paranoid parents and jealous girlfriends across the United States are using an intrusive Porn Stick to stalk, track and monitor online activity aka your digital footprint . http://paraben-sticks.com/porn-remover.html It's a simple thumb drive that will scan an entire computer and find any current or deleted pornographic images. Special Agent Rusty Isakson with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force depends on the latest technology to help catch child porn predators. However, take John and Laurel Porter, who employ Paraben’s Porn Stick to routinely conduct "surprise inspections" by scanning the contents of laptops and cell phones belonging to their three children.   Now this worries me - where does trust and talking to your children sit.  End of pipe solution that is selling on FUD and not on making any change to the actual system.

I have written a number of times on dealing with death and the relationship to your digital footprint Rule 31 from my 31 new social rules for living in a digital age is about finding someone you trust to ensure that your digital estate can be managed.  Digital Estate Planning appears to be growing    AssetLock.net ,  Legacy Locker ,  Deathswitch.com  and My Webwill   aim to address the issues raised  by enabling online users to securely store online information like logins and passwords to be passed on to relations after death - however you need to tell someone and  Excel does work as a cheap alternative. On a related but different slant there is E-Tomb which is a solar powered tomb with bluetooth to enable relatives to visit your online profiles and memories after you passed away.

Brazen Careerist ( http://www.BrazenCareerist.com ), a site for career advancement, launched Network Roulette, an online speed-networking service last week. As a service it randomly matches participants with others (anyone) after answering two questions: “What are you looking for?” and “What are you providing?”  User then have up to 3 minutes to determine if the random match can help you and a wash-up dashboard then sets out follow up. Perfect for the couch potato who wants to stay playing "Call of Duty" instead of taking the time to get out see daylight and meet others.  However, it is positioned for those busy exec's (professional) who want to expand their network.  Personally, very confused as if busy that last thing I need is some random introductions. However, this is another place for your digital identity/ persona and the question I now ask with these services is; Is this value add or is this reputation destroying?

  Fridays irrational thinking - As with everything on my blog, I am addressing this thought from the standpoint of "user data," as it unlikely that, from any other rational stance, you would reach the same thought. Proposition One: Apple becomes Microsoft Steve Jobs (Apple) knows best and knows what you want. OS10 moves even further to Apple taking entire control of what you do and how you do it. It is locked down as UI/UX experience is everything, and it is good - but not for everyone. iPhone and iPad users ( and then OS10 and Apple.TV) are forced to download apps from the apps store. These pre-approved and selected apps are the only offer. Only those Apps that Apple deems non-strategic to their view of the world (how many music apps are there that integrate to iTunes?)  Like editorial control in News and print, I know better than you. I will not be biased, other than what I like. The follows (believers) are fanatical and all faults are features. Prices are high, maintaining

  Fridays irrational thinking - As with everything on my blog, I am addressing this thought from the standpoint of "user data," as it unlikely that, from any other rational stance, you would reach the same thought. Proposition One: Apple becomes Microsoft Steve Jobs (Apple) knows best and knows what you want. OS10 moves even further to Apple taking entire control of what you do and how you do it. It is locked down as UI/UX experience is everything, and it is good - but not for everyone. iPhone and iPad users ( and then OS10 and Apple.TV) are forced to download apps from the apps store. These pre-approved and selected apps are the only offer. Only those Apps that Apple deems non-strategic to their view of the world (how many music apps are there that integrate to iTunes?)  Like editorial control in News and print, I know better than you. I will not be biased, other than what I like. The follows (believers) are fanatical and all faults are features. Prices are high, maintaining