Sunday - Jan 2, 2011
When I grew up in 60s there was huge generation gap between my friends and our parents, and certainly our grandparents. A recent Pew Internet survey takes a generational look at how Americans use the Internet. It’s a surprising snapshot of America online as a new decade begins.
Here are some of the highlights:
Almost everyone uses e-mail, from so-called Millenials (18-33) to the G.I. Generation (74+).
Less than 19% are likely to blog.
Gen X (34-45) and older are more likely to get financial information online.
Popular among all ages are shopping online, banking, downloading podcasts, rating products and services, searching for religious information, making charitable donations.
66% of adults watch video online. (No, it’s not what you’re thinking.) 51% listen to music online. 53% have used a classifieds site like Craigslist.
Ten years ago many of the services we now take for granted were in their infancy. Will e-mail still be on the list in 2020? Will we be interacting in virtual 3D spaces? Will our digital lives achieve immortality? What if we had really fast Internet connections, like South Korea, the current world leader. At an average speed of 16.63 Mb, Koreans can surf more than 3 times faster than the Americans.
Have any predictions for the next decade?
If you do, here’s your chance to weigh in.
Wednesday - Dec 8, 2010
Being online is a curious experience. On one hand, it feels totally anonymous, just you and your computer, an obedient object that responds to your every command. On the other hand, almost all your online activity is recorded–every website you visit, every link you click and a whole lot more. For details about how this works, read “Controlling Your Clickstream.”
I’ve blogged about online privacy and how technology is rapidly eroding that increasingly quaint concept. Now the Federal Trade Commission is getting into the act.
Just as Americans can sign up for a Do Not Call list that prevents telemarketers from making pesky dinnertime phone calls, the FTC is proposing Do Not Track, a way to prevent online marketers from collecting personal data about you.
Needless to say, the proposal is controversial. Internet companies claim that this will stymie ecommerce by preventing them from tailoring ads targeted to your interests. There is some logic to this argument. If you’re a guy, you’re probably not interested in seeing ads for women’s fashion accessories. If advertising is the price to be paid for free online content, then the ads should at least be relevant. Fair enough.
But do you really want all of your online activity recorded, sliced, diced, sold and used as a weapon to get you to buy more stuff? I know I don’t.
The other day I was browsing online for a file cabinet. I visited a few sites like Office Depot, Target, Ikea, and Overstock, checking out the options. Then I went to Hotmail. Alongside my e-mail was a banner ad for a file cabinet. It was creepy. I felt like someone was spying on me. I suppose someone was and I didn’t like it. Nor do the 80% of Americans that told Consumer Watchdog they want laws to protect their online privacy.
At this point it’s not clear how Do Not Track would work. One solution is to have a feature built into your web browser–a button or setting–that would block data from being collected and transmitted to third parties, much the way you can now prevent cookies from being stored on your computer.
Yesterday Microsoft announced that it would build a Do Not Track option into Internet Explorer 9. The browser is currently in beta release. (If you’re curious how this will work, read about it here.) It’s a good start.
But what’s really needed is a broad policy that spells out how the personal information collected on every American can be used. Right now it’s a free-for-all, with no clear guidelines. While we may be able to stop personal information from being collected in the future, what about everything that’s already out there? What protection do we have? Very little at the moment.
According to Susan Grant, director of consumer protection for the Consumer Federation of America, “There are no limits to what types of information can be collected, how long it can be retained, with whom it can be shared and how it can be used. Consumers simply have no legal control over being spied on when they go online.”
Although more action is needed, the FTC is taking a baby step in the right direction. If you’re motivated, the commission is accepting comments from the public until January 21, 2011.
Do you feel like prey being tracked across the online consumer landscape? Share your thoughts on this important issue.
Thursday - Nov 18, 2010
I’ve done a bit of editing to the news article below, but you can probably guess where it’s from:
“The latest group of netizens has been named and shamed for spreading online rumors and disturbing public order by a website that assesses Internet credibility.
The details of 14 netizens, including their online user names, real surnames, IP addresses, real addresses and legal violations from the period of June through October were posted on a website run by the Information Network Security Association and supported by the municipal public security bureau.
The latest entry was about a man who on Oct 6 spread online rumors about fake murders. According to the entry, he has since repented following police intervention.
Other violations exposed include spreading rumors about bombing a government building, posting articles on how to make explosives and promoting the flying of model planes when the city had banned flying objects.
Three of the 14 exposed were fined, while the rest were cautioned by the police, according to the website. No one was detained or jailed.
Earlier this year, the website publicized the details of 66 netizens who committed similar violations between April 2007 and May 2010.
However, many netizens have expressed concern that such exposure means their online activities are under surveillance.
In contrast, some other netizens find that exposure is beneficial to maintaining a healthy Internet environment. “More exposures could help reduce fake information online,” said another netizen.”
If you guessed, China, you’re right. Despite making huge economic advances that have created 875,000 multi-millionaires, freedom of speech remains out of reach in this nation of 1.3 billion, which also has the world’s largest online population.
Censorship is not confined just to what one posts online. The top 3 U.S. websites, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter are blocked in China; Google now operates from Hong Kong to avoid censoring search results.
Will the Great Firewall eventually crumble? What do you think?
