For National Privacy Week May 1-7, 2013

Hi everyone.  Did you know we have National Privacy Week  in May?
I”ve been reading more about it and wanted to share some thoughts and findings
with you here from the free web and also available at your local library.

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Privacy: How well can people maintain their abilities and rights to reveal stuff about themselves selectively when increasing amounts information are collected on them unknowingly?

Scott McNealy of Sun Microsystems’ answer in 1999 was allegedly this: “You already have zero privacy. Get over it.”

Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook’s more recent answer: “”Our work to improve privacy continues today.”

Privacy: How well can people remain anonymous or unidentifiable publicly, whether  as an individual, family, or group?

Here’s a quote from Bush-era national security policy adviser Richard Pearle’s answer, probably aimed more at criminal groups among us: “Law-abiding citizens value privacy. Terrorists require invisibility. The two are not the same, and they should not be confused.”

Privacy:  How does our behavior change “affectively,” that is, self-consciously, when we move private conversations over to public forums and chat rooms with audiences?

How do we behave when communicating via instant messaging with friends one-on-one?  Do we self-censor what we instant message, do we “flame” and type what comes to our minds or hearts, or do we communicate a combination of both?

For example, Facebook or IM/chatroom users — how do you feel about using the “@” symbol when responding in a very personal manner to a friend’s post?    Do you feel emboldened because you would not see your friend’s face to face reaction?  I think I used to feel this way.  Moreover, when I knew other “friends” or audiences could read the post as well, I know I wanted to execute a performance with my post.
(Personally,  I now dislike unquestioningly using the “@” or “at” symbol in posts, as it often depersonalizes. I’m reminded to better communicate to or with people, not at them.  My students and the public always remind me as well.)

In any case,  I found librarian Bobbi Newman’s blog entry with her 10 Favorite Privacy Quotes to be  enlightening.   Newman observes that, “There is a huge difference between something happening in public and it being publicized.”  She also praises Danah Boyd’s paper, “Making Sense of Privacy and Publicity.”  I too highly recommend it.

Searching around, I also found a fun activity on Forbes to help boost our knowledge of diverging views on the topic of privacy(though be aware that if you visit Forbes’s website online, it may too collect “cookies” or information):
Kashmir Hill’s “Privacy Quiz: Are you a Mark Zuckerberg or a Mark Rotenberg?” at http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/06/08/privacy-quiz-are-you-a-mark-zuckerberg-or-a-marc-rotenberg/

Also, I found these free web resources via Privacyrevolution.org. 
* The Privacy Rights ClearingHouse at https://www.privacyrights.org/.  It is a wonderful resource, with facts sheets and other invaluable information.  Please check it out.

* The Electronic Privacy Information Center at http://epic.org/privacy/
This is another helpful resource on matters of privacy online.

Also, come check out books also available at Lantana Public Library on privacy, including the following:

Privacy in the information age by Harry Henderson.
Call No. 323.448 Hen

I know who you are and I saw what you did : social networks and the death of privacy by Lori Andrews.
Call No. 323.44 And

Prying eyes : protect your privacy from people who sell to you, snoop on you, and steal from you by Eric J. Gertler.
323.448 Ger

The Facebook effect : the inside story of the company that is connecting the world by David Kirkpatrick
303.4833 Kir