My Digital FootPrint

I have been exploring the research and concepts that bias and trauma are deeply linked.  The linkage and directionality are much debated.   Trauma creates bias, and equally, bias creates trauma. It would appear that either can be a starting point, but they definitely feed each other, creating complex positive (healing) and negative (detrimental) feedback loops which extend beyond the individual and their immediate relationships to wider society.     Using systems-mapping to address Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and trauma: A qualitative study of stakeholder experiences  https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0273361 Why does this matter, as all data has a bias?  Fundamental to a decision-making role based on data is to demand that we recognise bias and try to remove bias; however, I am now thinking that if we remove the bias, we assume there is no trauma, and therefore, everyone will be rational.  Yes, there...

   I have written about the boundaries between value and creepy many times - are few examples are linked here, however this is a good one as it shows that one is about detail, moving, real time and what others can find out about you without you knowing - the other is about sentiment What is interesting is that both require the same level of detailed knowledge, it is all how it is presented that makes one acceptable and one creepy... Previous Blogs on creepy For non Harry Potter readers - from Wikipedia..... The Marauder's Map   The Marauder's Map is a magical map of Hogwarts created by James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew while they were at Hogwarts, during which time they gained extensive knowledge about the school grounds, such as its various hidden passages, from their frequent night-time adventures together.   At first glance, the Map is simply a blank piece of parchment; but when the user points his wand at the Map and says, "I solemn...

The reason for posting a copy of this article is to think about the truth it tells us about digital footprints living forever.  It is easy to build an article about big brother and somehow it is creepy that we are watched (knowingly and unknowingly) and it makes fabulous tabloid headlines.  Creepy increases FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) fuelled by headlines and the odd article.   However,  as shown below it is likely that the cost of keeping all data may just be too high and we need to become selective, indeed we may even print it.  Do we have the first flint knife, stone axa or sword and every iteration of them, or just a few and we can work it out - how much (data, evidence) do we really need. The question that should be asked is about damages.  Yes people can be tracked and found, and Google has settled on its fines for 'abuse' with street view but the level of real damages is very low.   Therefore are we far more worried about digit...

The reason for posting a copy of this article is to think about the truth it tells us about digital footprints living forever.  It is easy to build an article about big brother and somehow it is creepy that we are watched (knowingly and unknowingly) and it makes fabulous tabloid headlines.  Creepy increases FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) fuelled by headlines and the odd article.   However,  as shown below it is likely that the cost of keeping all data may just be too high and we need to become selective, indeed we may even print it.  Do we have the first flint knife, stone axa or sword and every iteration of them, or just a few and we can work it out - how much (data, evidence) do we really need. The question that should be asked is about damages.  Yes people can be tracked and found, and Google has settled on its fines for 'abuse' with street view but the level of real damages is very low.   Therefore are we far more worried about digit...

When Big Data says "Happy Christmas", what is the sentiment? I always say "Happy Christmas," however, this year as I write my chosen Christmas messages, I am forced to consider what someone else's algorithm will imply about me, based on my use of digital words. I want to explore in this ViewPoint, through the use of a "Happy Christmas" message, the level of TRUST already granted to something we cannot touch in a digital world. Scene setting - Trust and Sentiment Let's consider the word happy and what it could imply.  If we think about it, we know that taking the use of the word 'happy' out of context from Happy Christmas, we could imply wrongly that from its current abundance of use that everyone is now more happy.  It would not only be misleading but could lead to personalisation errors later. The same principle applies for the word 'merry', it would be wrong to assume that the current use of it means that we have all drunk more. T...

It is probably easier to cross the creepy test than most people think, and the issue being damage to brand and not achieving any value. An example could be using Bluetooth to track shoppers, whilst anonymous the direct marketing targeted to your on your handset feels like an invasion/ violation.  There is probably another axis which covers off adoption/ acceptance/ knowledge.          

  What makes a service creepy? Dustbins with chips in that measure your rubbish? CCTV that can recognise your face and lets you know how often you visit? Finger printing or access cards for schools that then track your childs passage through school? Anonymous but personalised marketing in a shopping centre based on your location? Adaptive search that knows what you are looking for? Auto spelling correction? Email censorship that stops you sending messages? Message analysis that tells you what type of person you are and how you manage your actions/ staff? Reminders and alerts? A friend who can auto “check” you into a location on Foursquare, Facebook places etc? Lights that turn on and off as you entre a room?

US : The Federal Trade Commission has announced that it is seeking public comments on the privacy and security implications raised by the use of facial recognition technology , specifically seeking public comments on the following: What are the current and future commercial uses of these technologies? Comment : let’s immediately limit this to what we can understand or gather what the fear could be. This is the right question to get the wrong answer.  A better question would be, “which problem will facial recognition solve on its own? How can consumers benefit from the use of these technologies? Comment : Consumers only benefit if the eco-system or society benefit. Consumers don’t often seen benefit until after the policy.  Why let the animals run the zoo! What are the privacy and security concerns surrounding the adoption of these technologies, and how do they vary depending on how the technologies are implemented? Comment : fear, uncertainty and doubt. ...

Much has already been written about the Nokia Microsoft strategic alliance for use of the Windows Phone OS for Nokia handsets and what great timing ahead of Mobile World Congress this week and as a follow-up to the Burning Platform memo. Opinions range across mud slinging from fan boys, heretics and doom mongers; few outspoken and a some considerate, thoughtful and strategic. Therefore, this piece is about what the announcement did not say as my instinct says there is a wider strategic issue that is worth considering.  There is a third way to view the alliance announcement beyond defence against Google and Apple and I highlight an alternative scenario in this Viewpoint. 140 character Summary Nokia/ MSFT don't need to have the best OS, UI or UX as there is value in being the provider of Payment, Identity, Location & Reputation. Help The alliance has also forced me to think about what market research to focus on in March/ April.  Please can you take 2 minutes to answer 1...

According to Samy Kamkar on this Blog post - and having tried it, it is spot on. android map  exposes the data that Google has been collecting from virtually all Android devices and street view cars, using them essentially as global wardriving machines.  When the phone detects any wireless network, encrypted or otherwise, it sends the BSSID (MAC address) of the router along with signal strength, and most importantly, GPS coordinates up to  the mothership . This page allows you to ping that database and find exactly where any wi-fi router in the world is located.  You can enter any router BSSID/MAC address to locate the exact physical location below, or try his demonstration router by hitting "Probe" ------ Personally tried and it is 100% spot on as per my image. I then looked up the IP address and this told me who owns the IP pipe and most likely the company I am sitting at.  I could do the same with a search at Companies House and the a...

  Wired Magazine readers are receiving personalized versions of the magazine, with their personal details spilled across the cover.    http://blogs.forbes.com/kashmirhill/2011/02/01/wired-uk-tries-to-creep-out-readers-with-invasive-personalized-covers/ http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/02/behind-the-scenes-of-wired-uk-magazines-personalized-covers/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter   Personally, if you don't know what is out there why are you playing with digital fire.  Fear, Uncertainty and doubt sells security solutions that are not secure or stops you from engaging.  It is all in the presentation, if you told someone where you live, don't be surprised how they know where you live, however, creepy is when someone implies, works out, buys your data and uses it.  But there are different laws for that.   Storm in a tea cup.

Google Latitude  history is either very interesting or very scary.  In "my digital footprint" I wrote about an idea for a security application where a phone would close applications and services as you drifted off your normal routine based on history and location. Further it would also seek to find friends and contacts as additional support. The latitude dashboard lets you see some graphs of how much time you spend at work, home, and out and about, and a list of your most visited places. You can also see a Google Map with your 500 latest updates added as pushpins.  From the dashboard, you can export your history of location updates as a KML file. It does ask you to opt in, and it doesn't share your location history with anyone. There is no doubt that it is a bit creepy as it gives step-by-step views of where you have been and even knows how many total miles I've travelled. You will love the little feature that explains how many miles you have travelled...

Today is the 4th Data Privacy Day . The focus is to inform and educate about personal data rights and protections. However, in many ways we debate privacy as a "motorway model."  There are two directions of the traffic, one towards more and better freedom, open, engagement, value and wealth.  The other is towards less and worse based on fear, uncertainty and doubt.  On either side we know that if we stray too wide it will lead to unethical, immoral, illegal and creepy and at some middle point we can find a compromise position.   My view is that this could well be the wrong model, as is built on the assumption of rule, regulation, enforcement, nation, system and compromise. We are searching for a perfect solution. Privacy is a setting and is uniquely personal to everyone on earth.  My often righteous and western view is based on my history and perhaps as I find that India and China over take us in terms of economic activity we should consider looking for an alter...

I am speaking at #DS12 Digital Shoreditch on Friday http://digitalshoreditch.com/identity/

Image from UnderLogic Facebook revamped its photo services by adding “Tag Suggestions”, a facial recognition feature which scans faces in your photos and offers up suggestions of who they are from your list of friends. Even though it is being tested with a small, undisclosed group of users, Tag Suggestions will roll out soon. One practical result is that is  that it is more likely that Facebook friends will tag you in photos and made it easier for friends to tag a large number of photos of you at once. Some find the notion of facial recognition “creepy” as it conjures ideals of Minority Report, terrorist watch lists and generally “big brother.” But don’t worry as the EU privacy regulators have said that they will investigate the Facebook facial recognition move and U.S. privacy watchdog group  EPIC  said it was considering an FTC complaint. To address user concerns, the social network will also introduce a privacy setting that...

AVG Study Finds a Quarter of Children Have Online Births Before Their Actual Birth Dates Also read these posts http://blog.mydigitalfootprint.com/creepy-fear-doubt-harm-and-damages-from-your http://blog.mydigitalfootprint.com/why-print-with-never-die-by-a-digital-evangel Great data, but not sure we have thought through why we are doing it or how we keep the data. ---- Uploading prenatal sonogram photographs, tweeting pregnancy experiences, making online photo albums of children from birth, and even creating email addresses for babies - today’s parents are increasingly building digital footprints for their children prior to and from the moment they are born. AVG surveyed mothers in North America (USA and Canada), the EU5 (UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain), Australia/New Zealand and Japan, and found that 81 percent of children under the age of two currently have some kind of digital profile or footprint, with images of them posted online. In the US, 92 percent of ...