I can't possibly be writing about Facebook again am I? Sorry but I am, but not specifically this time. The web in it's near twenty years of mainstream existence is at it's major inflection point. The delta is are you public or private. There is no in-between. Social networks, mobile networks, the web itself is a huge tracking system. You either participate and accept being tracked, or you avoid it and feel happy about your privacy online. There is no in-between.
Companies, the government know what you are doing if you are online. What people who value their privacy don't understand is that what they do is not private, and never has been. When you use a credit card, use a GPS, make a phone call or send a text message you are implicitly giving a single to the corporation who you subscribe to of where you are, what you are buying and how much you are spending. The cat is long out of the bag. What's even more interesting now and why the time is upon is is that companies now have the data and computer processing power to harness all your information.
Facebook knows this or at least is betting on the fact that we're all resigned to the fact that our privacy is gone and we simply have to accept that everything we do, say, act on, take a picture and share, listen to, watch on TV will be shared and our friends will know. You can either live within these parameters or not.
Two things may happen:
1. Privacy may no longer matter.
If everyone's lives are public, then privacy is not an issue. We're all on the same footing, so who cares. A Presidential candidate in 20 years will simply have pictures of himself doing a keg stand when he was 19 years old and it will be okay, because we all will have pictures like that online. (Sure, the older generation will be appalled but they are just "living the dream")
1. Privacy may no longer matter.
If everyone's lives are public, then privacy is not an issue. We're all on the same footing, so who cares. A Presidential candidate in 20 years will simply have pictures of himself doing a keg stand when he was 19 years old and it will be okay, because we all will have pictures like that online. (Sure, the older generation will be appalled but they are just "living the dream")
2. We will collectively clam up.
I call this the Jordan-Jeter Syndrome. No one will ever say, reveal or do anything remotely interesting. We will all become much more conservative in what we do, say, or how we act for fear it will be on the web. Micheal Jordan created this style of persona. He said nothing, never gave anything more than a standard sound bite and if you crossed him, you were eliminated from his mind. He would never speak, mention or acknowledge any writer who revealed anything about him. Derek Jeter did the same thing. He says nothing, gives nothing and we know nothing about him. For this? They are revered as heroes even thought we know absolutely nothing about them. They are flawless gladiators.
I call this the Jordan-Jeter Syndrome. No one will ever say, reveal or do anything remotely interesting. We will all become much more conservative in what we do, say, or how we act for fear it will be on the web. Micheal Jordan created this style of persona. He said nothing, never gave anything more than a standard sound bite and if you crossed him, you were eliminated from his mind. He would never speak, mention or acknowledge any writer who revealed anything about him. Derek Jeter did the same thing. He says nothing, gives nothing and we know nothing about him. For this? They are revered as heroes even thought we know absolutely nothing about them. They are flawless gladiators.
Are you ready for this world or will you drop out and clam up? I accept it and everything I do online I accept as being public.
Originally appeared http://laurent-courtines.com/you-are-making-the-decision-on-privacy-you-ar from http://laurent-courtines.com
