My Digital FootPrint

Original article http://www.gizmag.com/die-zeit-interactive-tracking-mobile-phone/18295/ “While most of us know it is theoretically possible for our movements to be tracked by detecting which tower our mobile phone is connected too, it might come as a shock to see just how much of a digital footprint we leave as we go about our daily lives. German Green Party politician Malte Spitz and German newspaper  Die Zeit  have provided a frightening insight into just how much information can be gleaned from the digital breadcrumbs we drop every day by creating an  interactive map  showing Spitz's movements and activities over a five month period based on mobile phone data and information freely available on the internet.”

London start-up  Allow Ltd   offers to sell your personal information on your behalf and give you 70% of the sale. As people are becoming more aware of the value of their data, some are seeking to protect it, and sometimes sell it. In January at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, executives and academics gathered to discuss how to turn personal data into an "asset class" by giving people the right to manage and sell it on their own behalf. "Data is a new form of currency" There is something probably here …. TRUSTe , has raised $12 million from venture capitalists to expand its privacy services. Reputation.com Inc. has raised $15 million and tripled its investments in new privacy initiatives including a service that removes people's names from online databases and a tool to let people encrypt their Facebook posts. Personal Inc   has raised $7.6 million for a business that aims to help people profit from providing their personal information to

  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 , SafetyWeb and 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 onli

There are New Digital Rules but children still need to learn that courtesy, kindness and good citizenship come first in the physical and digital world but cyberbullying can occur 24 hours a day, seven days a week. “ Digital Citizenship : Breaking the Culture of Mean,” is a 30-minute DVD produced by TIE , a professional development association as a tool for teachers. It explores how to identify, address and stop bullying and cyberbullying in a variety of settings, and it suggests that students need to be trained in how to leave a “digital footprint” that will have positive, not negative, effects on their futures.