I have a decision to make...

...not like anyone really gives a shit, but as a longtime Facebook hater for reasons like this, this, issues discussed in this book, etc., I may have to close or relocate this blog, which I enjoy keeping even if I'm the only one that reads it.

Why? Because this is a Google service, and Google is preparing to implement "privacy" policies very similar to Facebook's.

Google Stockpiles Data Ammo Through Privacy Merge, Guns To Win Relevancy War, via TechCrunch

I have taken my little steps to fight the power over the years - for example, I use Mozilla Firefox with the AdBlock Plus add-on for routine web surfing, which eliminates nearly all ads and provides a small measure of protection from tracking, as well as other privacy protections and anonymizers.

I don't surf porn, download pirated content or do anything else illegal online - I oppose online intrusions on principle. I also know I'm fighting a losing battle, but I'll still fight it. Guess I'm becoming an internet curmudgeon.

Anyone who reads this might find it strange that I have a Twitter account with my real name. This doesn't bother me (yet) because Twitter so far has been honest about the fact that everything you do on it is public. Its policies don't change from week-to-week or day-to-day, and they don't seem to have the types of security lapses that Facebook is famous for. If people have problems with it or screw up on it, it's usually their own fault (like this guy). I am a news junkie and use it mainly as a news aggregator, and also follow some comedians who give me laughs during the day. I follow no one I personally know, and no one I personally know follows me (although I wouldn't object to either). Via Twitter, I receive information and laughs all day without "liking" or otherwise engaging with anyone if I don't want to. I LIKE this :-) (pun intended).

Having said all that, I have heard rumblings and grumblings about changes to Twitter that I will be paying attention to. A real dilemma is developing for Internet users who don't want every click tracked by some known or unknown entity.

Five Ways Twitter Is Changing Media Law, via paidcontent.org

Terry Gross interviews Jeffery Rosen, one of the editors of the book linked above, about interpreting the Constitution in the Digital Age - read or listen - via NPR

OMG SHUT UP SUE AND POST A PICTURE


/pic ganked from a FARK photoshop thread