Tag Archive for privacy

Ads R Us by Claire Carmichael

27/10/2011 Joh reading

‘Ads R Us’ is set in a dystopian world where advertising has taken control. In many ways like our own:). The main character, Barrett comes from ‘Simplicity’ an alternative lifestyle commune that rejects the ‘Chattering World’ he nows finds himself in. When his uncle, the founder of ‘Simplicity’ dies, he goes to live with his aunt.

Barrett’s sudden exposure to the new world reveals the manipulations and persuasions of advertising as he uncovers his value to his aunt and uncle. It has many themes including ‘cliques’ and popularity, privacy, personal freedom, power and corruption, materialism, addiction, all the things that come with a society that revolves around consumption.

I read this book with my Wednesday students. It’s the year 8 text at their school. In the US it’s been published under the title ‘Leaving Simplicity’.

Here is a Reading Guide from the authors web page.

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Facebook’s Recent Updates….

06/10/2010 Joh friends, learn

How did they access the numbers out of my mobile phone? Current numbers that I have only updated in my mobile phone in the last month, together with the funny little names I give people to distinguish them from others with the same name, or remind me why I have the number eg: Suzie Carwasher. I don’t recall giving facebook access to my mobile phone contacts.

I find that kind of creepy. You can change the settings though to have your number removed. If you feel weird about it, I recommend you do that. Another reason to be highly selective about who you add as a friend I guess.

The places function, which fortunately hasn’t occurred without asking* like the phone numbers have has turned many people’s mobile phones into a tracking device. A student showed me the location of another student in class today and showed his movement across the yard. Mind you we could see him walking out the window, but it kind of blew me away. I wish I had access to that when my kids were teenagers. I can imagine the conversation now. “You don’t have to call me and tell me wherever you are you just have to have your facebook places on and allow me access”…. mwah. In discussion with students today (who have already worked out the parent hacks obviously), they said they could just leave their mobile phones at the place they were meant to be and then go wherever they liked.

*when I say without asking, there was probably some little clause somewhere I didn’t read:-)

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My Privacy and Facebook

31/05/2010 Joh blogging, friends, random

I’m not leaving facebook today. At the risk of insulting the 26565 committed leavers (as of 9.50pm tonight), I am not sick of facebooks lack of respect for my data. On occasion I am sick of facebook users lack of respect for their own data though. The definition of privacy is to be separate from others or not seen by others. The very act of having a facebook account is to share with others or interact. I understand that selling our data to others wasn’t what we signed up for, yet it was kind of obvious to me it was going to go that way. Nothing is free!

The thing about facebook, twitter, youtube, blogging, and all the stuff we do online is that it is not private. It’s not hidden. We really need to know that. No one can get information about you that you don’t give them though. There is no one with a gun to your head telling you to reveal all the ups and downs of your life or your breakfast preferences. You willingly provide that information or preference. There are no paparazzi following you and photographing your family and all the things you like to do and publishing them to the world….you do that yourself.

I think it is the myth of privacy online that we need to quit. I feel my privacy could be invaded if my phone calls were listened into or if there was video surveillance cameras that I wasn’t aware of. Satellites have concerned me because I can’t see them and I am not aware of what they are watching. I was a bit startled by Google Street View, when it came to my town. I felt that was potentially an invasion of privacy.

People only know what you tell them, or show them. If you want something to be private, keep it to yourself.

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Sorting Facebook

31/08/2009 Joh relationships

Last night I put all my friends on Facebook into different groups. I was inspired by having access to photos of someone I barely knew. Photos that were a touch revealing. I’m not sure I am that open.  There are levels of privacy I want to maintain.

I looked into it,  there are different levels of privacy in facebook but I hadn’t really explored them till then. I have my own criteria for adding friends on facebook, yet within are different groups/types of friends, sounds awful to categorise your friends, but I’m only human. If I know someone I am happy to add them. I don’t need to know them in person, or in current time, past is fine, I need to have some concept of who they are and how they are connected to me. The old ‘everyone’s welcome’ slogan I had when working at the Neighbourhood House, doesn’t apply on my facebook page.

By the same token, just because I know a person, doesn’t mean I want to share everything with them. I discovered last night that for each photo album you upload to facebook, you can set the networks or friend groups that you want to see them. It’s given me peace of mind. I don’t want to wonder about how many friends of friends can see my family photos and who they are.

Having said all that and feeling pretty much master of the universe as far as my privacy goes on facebook, I still wouldn’t put anything I thought would be detrimental to me online. anywhere. I still haven’t worked out how to control people tagging you in photos, apart from removing the tag. I was discussing this in class today. When you are out and about you aren’t necessarily looking around for people who are photographing you with their mobile phone. Perhaps privacy is dead.

What are your settings on facebook? Who can see your photos?

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