In Rousseau's social contract, people surrendered part of their autonomy to a central authority in order to gain the benefits of civil society, not least among which were social order and personal security. In the Internet's social contract, we seem to have given up our bargaining power. All too often we surrender our privacy because... Continue Reading →
What Do Your Searches Disclose About Your Work?
When you use a search engine, you're thinking aloud. It's almost as if you're standing in the middle of Central Park or Hyde Park shouting, "Does anyone know anything about [X]?" In Central Park, at least, people are likely to ignore you and just keep walking. What would happen, however, if someone stopped, paid attention,... Continue Reading →
My Low-Level Online War
Today is a day for confessions. While I place a very high premium on honesty, I have given myself leave to be "economical with the truth" in one particular area: when an online service starts asking for my personal data, I start obscuring the facts. For example, why does any social media platform need to... Continue Reading →