So Google and Facebook have been playing fast and lose with your personal data huh? Surprise, surprise. They were given a free gift and no one told them they couldn’t play with it until it was too late. Every time you click “yeah whatever” on the terms and conditions page for your latest app you’re twitching yourself even further into the web. Most people live online now because it makes sense to, but have you ever considered what happens if you want to undo the digital footprints you are leaving behind? Data is a commodity and is going to be one of the most valuable commodities of the 21st Century after all the ivory and tiger gall bladders have been collected.
People have gotta make a living and they need you. And now
they know where you live. Online anyway. The world is a village and you are its
idiot because you made friends with those acquaintances you bumped into via
friends of your partner’s cousin’s friend and, because of some links to some
historical Marilyn Manson gigs in your news feed, they now want to out you as
an aethiest to their Mormon Facebook community that keeps spamming your inbox
with invitations to join them. Or the time you got tagged in that photo in a
restaurant with your girlfriend’s friend’s boyfriend, who your boss recognised
as someone he sacked in a previous job - and now he’s looking at you funny,
just when you need him as a referee for your dream job. The grapevine produces
instant fruit. It’s complicated, is it not, trying to tell the people who are
messing up your life to bog off without looking like as asshole (for eternity)
in front of the people you do care about.
If honesty is a dangerous thing, how about hiding behind a
fake persona? Worth a try if you can get away with it, but don’t let the guys
from Catfish find you. Plenty of people stretch the truth online, to some
pretty outrageous extents. Why, it won’t be long before some mad musician is
claiming they're acting under the influence of aliens. First impressions are
almost certainly not what they seem, so think carefully when you’re weighing up
those friend requests. Those hot photos are probably just a front.
But it’s all so tempting and it’s available instantly. Or
instantly after you give them your credit card details that is. Then after you've signed up you find the glossy hooks on the front page
are pure eye candy. All sugar coat and no filling. Like a drunk tourist in Amsterdam, you’re being
played every time you venture online. A decent set of digital blinkers are a
must have. How many times have you gone looking for stuff online and by the end
of the night, not only achieved nothing, but ended up with a whole lot more you
never thought of to chase down tomorrow.
Then there’s the whole business about business. You’ve gotta
be upfront with the government and the bank and all the other corporations that
have you by the short and curlies. Mess up your official identity and you’re
life will vanish before your very eyes. They don’t pay money in little brown
envelopes anymore. No bank account, no life. Even homeless people are
struggling in a cash-free society, but that’s where you’ll be if you screw up.
Is that really the only way left to retain your privacy?
Big data = bigger control. And you thought aliens were
scary.
Now I know what you’re thinking – what has this got to do
with rock n roll? Not a whole lot – this is a shameless plug for some of the
ideas my little guys have been throwing out on their albums. Try these tunes on
for size:
