Sometimes I wonder on how many website I already registered? How many passwords did I use? Do I remember them all?
What kind of information did I leave in some of the databases?
My Name? Sure...
My adress? Most of the time...
My email? Yip...
Creditcard numbers? Yes, often...
Telephone number? not always...
Is this being publicized? Nope, not really, except maybe on OpenBC.
What else is being tracked and recorded? Stored away for history? My emails? Certainly all webpages and much more? Do I really want to see others where I am registered, to let them know they can trust me? Hmmm...
Do I think it is critical that we leave so many personal data out there? Well on the one hand I do and on the other I don´t. Sure all this data is in the hand of some administrator/company and I certainly hope that they use the latest security mechanism to ensure that my data is safe and that no hacker can steel them... but we definitely get much more vulnarable to attacks, stolen data, credit card no theft, account hijacking etc. This is why I think it is critical and we need more policies and web standards to secure personal data. Also I think more restrictions are needed in terms of spyware functionality that tracks our behaviour on the desktop e.g. and sends it out to some information gathering companies. Also the mass of internet data and personal information could be a thread for individuals in the future, because based on their personal online behaviours and interests, coupled with geographic, demographic, biometric (new passports) and possibly in the future genetic information they could be discrimated by third parties, insurance companies, etc. and we are once again headed to a world where people do not get equal chances... This really will become a challenge for the UN, W3C, ICANN and all the governing bodies worldwide!
On the other hand the internet, digital data and tracking mechanisms offer great chances for intelligent agencies, the policies and the military in order to track down cross passers, terrorists and criminals. Hopefully the good guys will win this race of intelligence.
I really do not worry at the moment that I could get to transparent and that is of course because I have nothing to hide. BUT, has this thread affected my daily life? YES: I do check my credit card balances more often than in the past, which means more stress....I switch my passwords and PINS regularely, which gets confusing sometimes and I therefore have to call these darn hotlines more often to reset them... I also think more about what to install on my computer and what the software sends out into the internet nirvana to someone else, which means that I spend more time configuring my firewall, blocking almost any outgoing traffic, which means that sometimes my software is outdated... Hey, have you ever send one of these microsoft bug reports? Hmm, I certainly haven´t? Have you installed a complex desktop search and management software? I did not so far, because, do you know what it tracks and sends out?
Well, what I am really trying to say is that the digital age already means more stress, more dangers and challenges, but it is also so FASCINATING and I guess we have to keep the child in us in order to trust each other, to try new things out and to be able to innovate!
