There has been a long time since the last publication isn't it? Things have become so busy in the past 6 months that I haven't had the chance to sit down in from of my laptop to write up anything other than work. However, I have good news: I am back to the blog, which means that there will be exciting posts coming up frequently this time, I promise. To start over again I have made a pick that I hope you will enjoy.
I have been told that yesterday was the day of Internet Security, and thinking about it and considering that I have not published anything on this blog for a long period of time I believe that speaking about data mining or surveillance is a great pick for today. Last year, when I was finishing my degree course, I have had a wonderful lecture that made me think about surveillance as a current and crucial theme in my life and in the life of millions of other people. But, before I can start off writing about this subject it is necessary to understand what does Data mining or Surveillance mean? Well, in an academic definition, David Lyon, an academic writer, says that surveillance is “Watching and recording others’ activity as a means of monitoring and supervising them” (Lyon, 2002). Or yet, “Focusing and systematic attention to personal details for the purpose of influence, management, care, control or regulation.” (Lyon, 2002: p. 1-5). Similarly, The Oxford English Dictionary defines it as “ Close observation of a suspected spy or criminal”.
For the time being, I am focusing in this article on the latter definition of the term surveillance, although the former and academic definition of the expression will be explored in another publication. In our current society, where the Internet and social networking sites have become our mainstream form of communication, people seem to be losing it. There is no filter on what to publish or not publish on the net. If we take Facebook as an example of our social media use, it is more than clear what I am talking about. In the past two years I have been observing that society are increasingly more “open” on the net, being less careful when posting, sharing or disseminating personal information on the web, like telephone numbers, places that they visited, their address and so on. No one seem to be watching the news about kidnapping, murders, psychopaths, paedophiles and many other types of criminals who take advantage of those information to take actions against “innocent” people who post personal details for the sake of networking.
How dangerous is that? Do you pay enough attention on what you are sharing on the web? I don’t think so. That is perhaps the reason for the sheering number of digital tools to get information from people nowadays. There are things like Four square, a named “social networking” site that allows users to check in and check out letting others know their exact location through Facebook. I keep asking myself what kind of social tool is that? How far have we got with this obsession for social networking sites? I do not think that it is necessary to unveil yourself to the world in that way. It is entirely possible to use those websites wisely than providing your personal details, as I will demonstrate in the next publication on this topic. Meanwhile, we need to comprehend that It is all about managing it in the best way. We need to preserve ourselves as citizens from any possible external threat that will only bring more trouble to your life. Be alert and smart, post things that will benefit you either personally or professionally, do not overestimate the power of information.
That is it for today, but it is not the end of it. Stay tuned and more on this subject is coming soon!!! Take care!
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