Social Networking, Data Portability, When does it all end??
I’m finally back after a 6 month hiatus from blogging and I want to start by addressing a very nagging question but I’ll get to that in just a moment. No doubt you’ve experienced social networking in one form or another (Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, LinkedIn, Twitter etc etc), and if you haven’t you’d better quit living in the 90’s. It’s all about creating and sharing information with friends, colleagues and basically everyone. The last 3 years especially have been witness to an explosive growth in the size and influence of these social networks. “Individuals finally have the power” - wow! (btw, that wow is supposed to be sarcastic).
The proliferation of social networks has led to a new fad… Data Portability. Data Portability is the ability to share information across multiple interfaces and web platforms using open standards. Once the data is accessed, it can repackaged, remixed, right-clicked… you name it. Basically your Facebook profile content for instance could appear on other social sites, and the flickr photos from your phone in return could appear on a google map. The basic idea is to mash together the infinite amounts of shared data (cue the scrolling Matrix code) and attempt make sense of it.
My nagging question is - does it all end? Mashing all this information together has led to an avalanche (more like a storm) of information that we have to deal with daily. For instance a news item can be mashed together with related YouTube links, google maps, flickr photos, message boards, stock ticker information, blogs and what your friends on Twitter think… the list is endless. By the time you’re done reading you’ll know all there is to know about Myanmar.
I have two problems; First can the human mind deal with the coming onslaught of information? Secondly, where does privacy begin and end, or should we just give it up altogether? Personally, I’m afraid that a super machine in the very near future will have the ability to assimilate together all this information, decipher it and draw very precise social patterns for every individual.
brave new world?
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First can the human mind deal with the coming onslaught of information?
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I think that social networks are just another way of handling the avalanche of information. Clive Thompson wrote about how we rely more and more on gadgets to store information. He likes the fact that the “cyborg future is here“, but is also concerned that we no longer “marinate” information by reading and thinking about what we’ve read.
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Secondly, where does privacy begin and end, or should we just give it up altogether?
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I never put more than the basic information needed to sign up for any of the social networks. Always assume they’re going to share the information without your permission. Apparently it’s very difficult to completely delete your Facebook profile.
It’s amazing, isn’t it? The kind of information we have access to? There is no limit to how much we can learn– I don’t think. It is scary though the information that is out there about folks. I have this recurring nightmare where someone exposes me to the world… lol, even though I really have nothing scandalous.
Our generation is definitely concerned about privacy, but generations born in the internet age have a very divergent perspective. To them, sharing personal information on the internet is what makes you who you are.
Plaxo’s core business relies on data portability… combining Flickr, YouTube, Amazon, Digg and other social based websites into one unit. What people have forgotten is that Plaxo gained its popularity by spamming its members addressbooks relentlessly. Plaxo now has a clean cut image, recently acquired by ComCast - what guarantee is there that your data won’t be used for profit???
In my humble opinion, I am glad that I have choice as to how much information I am able to consume and how to consume it, including how complex I want my understanding to be.
I think I much prefer relating to information on this level than compared to the analog reality of television or movies.
What I especially love is that I can now perform 80/20 Analysis in every area that I wish to learn about or need information for, and figure out the most important things that I need to understand and focus on the areas that matter knowing that there is an endless array of useful information on how to excel in that area.
Personally, I am very much in favor of this ongoing openness of information as it returns something that is sadly lacking from a vast majority of Western culture, accountability to other people. Simple example, as a result of my blogging on a semi-personal basis, I now feel a responsibility to constantly do the right thing so I can share with that reader.
Whereas not everyone likes such pressure and it doesn’t always have desirable consequences, I think it’s a powerful force if well harnessed.
My 0.02