Who Benefits?

One of the most frustrating things I find online is a lack of information about authors. When I read someone's blog, especially a professional blog, I want to know who they are. It helps me make a connection to them. I want to see what grade they are teaching, what they are teaching, and where they are teaching.

by onlyalice via compfight.com

I understand why people do not want to share information about themselves. Websites are pushing for more and more "openness", and the media is [fortunately] reporting on the increasing privacy breaches that websites have. We are in a time unlike any other where we can find information very easily, and unfortunately like other times in human history, people exploit it for their personal gain.

I think it is up to us as users to decide what we put online.

What about the times when information is posted by other people?

Have you ever Googled yourself? I know everyone has. When I Googled myself I found a few sites that have information about me posted for anyone to see. What was unsettling was that in order to remove or edit my own [mis]information from these sites, I would need to register.

Why would I register to a site and give them my email address, first and last names, and birthday? But, that is their [slimy] business model. The only thing I can think of doing is paying another business to scour the web and take down my information for me. I suppose I could try to email them and ask nicely I suppose, but for me, that is like clicking on the "unsubscribe" link on a spam email.

I have stopped sharing my birthday on all sites. The birthday is a vital piece of information, and I hate that sites use it as a way to identify you as you. But as I write this I am wondering if I am changing my birthday in a way so that I will not be recognizable at all. Maybe I should rethink my strategy. If you have not read about the reporter whose digital identity was stolen, you should.

Pictures

I remember a few years ago when my coworker came up to me and said they saw me at the staff party. "But you did not go, how did you see me?" I replied.

It turns out that another coworker was taking pictures, posting them on Facebook, and then tagging the people in the pictures. For me, that was breaking my trust in them. I talked to the person, and that person said it would not happen again, but I know it has.

This got me thinking about my teaching blog. I use my blog to reflect and share my teaching practices, but what I did not realize was that I was also sharing student photos. I did not have a name associated with them, but I had recognizable pictures for all to see out in the open. I am trying not to do that anymore.

Where do we go from here?

I am  trying to model for my students how to cite information, and I am talking more to them about how to act online. As I dive into this more, I think I will show them Mark Zuckerberg's social profiles and ask the following question:

Isn't it interesting that the people running the companies who want us to become more open on the Internet, aren't exactly open themselves? And if it is so good to open up, why don't they do it too? Who benefits from the openness?

http://www.facebook.com/zuck, https://plus.google.com/104560124403688998123/posts