We must find a way to process the information that is constantly thrown at us. However, it is important to maintain the elements of our own information that don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need to be shared. Greater amounts of information for progress don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t excuse those using the information from taking our identity or humanity. We shouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t wait for a crisis to try to enact these changes. It is the duty of the consumer to demand change from the producer. The producer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s best interest is to continue the business practices that have allowed them to succeed thus far. Therefore, a consumer revolution of sorts must occur to ensure that information is appropriately used. As Barbour notes, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Recognition of the inadequacy of old patterns plus the vision of positive alternatives could produce major changes,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d without the need for a disaster like AOL\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s search leak (Zeller Jr.) to repeat itself. Therefore a delicate balance must be found between use and intent, with an eye out for preservation.<\/p>\n
Even if the information is tacitly shared, the question of who owns the information must still be asked. Do I have a right to pull my records out of the databases of an online retailer with whom I no longer plan to do business? Is this true of other business contacts that we have in the physical world? I think the issue of ownership scares the general public more than the other issues because of the permanence involved. If I have privacy concerns, then I simply stop browsing the Internet. However, if anyone has ever saved a page with my information on it, I cannot force him or her to get rid of it. Furthermore, through simple technology based techniques, companies are now able to store information about one\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s search, browsing, and shopping habits. This means that they can not only tailor their advertising towards products that you would more likely be interested in, but also hold information that the user feels should be kept secret. I have to carefully weigh the need to do business on the Internet versus my right to privacy. If businesses cannot guarantee my anonymity, then I am forced to take my privacy into my own hands. The lack of any kind of regulation in this area means that the companies only report to themselves. This responsibility is one that is bound to create a very grey area in terms of right and wrong. Maintaining the integrity of data while making a profit is simple for any company, but when economic tides turn, and the data is a valuable asset, what is to bar the company from freely using a user\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s information to earn a profit?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We must find a way to process the information that is constantly thrown at us. However, it is important to maintain the elements of our own information that don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need to be shared. Greater amounts of information for progress don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t excuse those using the information from taking our identity or humanity. We shouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t wait for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[11,1],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pQyAq-J","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":41,"url":"https:\/\/www.onvural.net\/melih\/thoughts\/2007\/01\/18\/building-a-case-against-apples-digital-media-business-practices-part-i\/","url_meta":{"origin":45,"position":0},"title":"Building a Case Against Apple\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Digital Media Business Practices - Part I","date":"January 18, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"In an attempt to look at the business and ethical practices of the largest companies in Silicon Valley today, I have done some research and written two papers on Apple's Digital Media and Google's ethical responsibility dealing with information gathering. I will present these over the next couple of days\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "iPod\/iTunes Bundling Essay"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":51,"url":"https:\/\/www.onvural.net\/melih\/thoughts\/2007\/04\/05\/encroachment-in-information-mining-technologies-part-viii\/","url_meta":{"origin":45,"position":1},"title":"Encroachment in Information Mining Technologies - Part VIII","date":"April 5, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"A myth of the Internet must also be broken down so that progress can be made. The Internet does not provide unbound freedom from one\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s physical self. One exists on the Internet similarly to the notion of existence in reality. There is an expectation to act responsibly. One cannot escape\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Information Mining Essay"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":43,"url":"https:\/\/www.onvural.net\/melih\/thoughts\/2007\/01\/21\/encroachment-in-information-mining-technologies-part-i\/","url_meta":{"origin":45,"position":2},"title":"Encroachment in Information Mining Technologies - Part I","date":"January 21, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Data mining has slowly, and silently, pervaded into the lives of everyday digital consumers. Using Gmail? Look at the advertisements on the right hand side of the screen and notice that they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re related to the contents of your e-mail. Are you a social networker? You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve released information about yourself onto\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Information Mining Essay"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":48,"url":"https:\/\/www.onvural.net\/melih\/thoughts\/2007\/03\/17\/encroachment-in-information-mining-technologies-part-vi\/","url_meta":{"origin":45,"position":3},"title":"Encroachment in Information Mining Technologies - Part VI","date":"March 17, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"But what if we just didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know? Couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ignorance be bliss? The problem is that many are using the Internet without, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the cognitive ability to appreciate the possible consequences of disclosure of personal information\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (Friedman and Thomas). Even something as simple as describing one\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s daily route to school for a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Information Mining Essay"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":42,"url":"https:\/\/www.onvural.net\/melih\/thoughts\/2007\/01\/19\/building-a-case-against-apples-digital-media-business-practices-part-ii\/","url_meta":{"origin":45,"position":4},"title":"Building a Case Against Apple's Digital Media Business Practices - Part II","date":"January 19, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"There hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t been much mentioned about consumer harm as of yet, and so the remainder of this paper will focus on whether the DRM software model that Apple has created harms the consumer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s rights. Apple\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ability to gain access to the music industry\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s catalogue of music came when they demonstrated\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "iPod\/iTunes Bundling Essay"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":565,"url":"https:\/\/www.onvural.net\/melih\/thoughts\/2012\/10\/02\/building-consumer-tools-instead-of-consumer-products-re-posted-from-rainbow-hat-guy\/","url_meta":{"origin":45,"position":5},"title":"Building consumer tools instead of consumer products (re-posted from Rainbow Hat Guy)","date":"October 2, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I want to be able to simplify the interactions I have in a given day to a single purpose. As an example, I'd like to claim that the hammer is there to work with nails. But the hammer isn't that simple of a product. Similarly when people ask me what's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Rainbow Hat Guy transition"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onvural.net\/melih\/thoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onvural.net\/melih\/thoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onvural.net\/melih\/thoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onvural.net\/melih\/thoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onvural.net\/melih\/thoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onvural.net\/melih\/thoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onvural.net\/melih\/thoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onvural.net\/melih\/thoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onvural.net\/melih\/thoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}