Data Collection Concerns

I came across an article today discussing concerns over data collected from participatory sensing technologies.  Devices, such as mobile telephones, can collect location-specific data and send this data to repositories where it can be used to detect trends.  Concerns exist on the use of this data.  While the examples of legitimate uses for this data were described, I failed to see how the benefits outweigh the potential exposure to such granular personal data.

These sensing devises are able to track an individual's location at any given time as well as capture images (through the phone's digital camera) and audio.  Misuse of this technology equates to individuals carrying a monitoring devise and evokes a more extreme scenario than described in by Orwell in 1984.

There is a clear need for governance over the collection, ownership, management, and application of this personal data.  Existing regulations on personal data do not go far enough to protect individuals from this more revealing personal data.  The question is, if and when this data is collected, who will own it and who will control access to it.  Right now I'm very uncomfortable with any government or corporate agency accessing or controlling this information.  While I'm not an alarmist, there is certainly potential and incentives (profit making) to collect this data so I am concerned.

Visible Wireless

This week I watched a TED Talk by Harald Haas on using light bulbs to transmit wireless data signals.  The idea originated to address the limited capacity with radio spectrum and the increasing data load on this spectrum.  The visible spectrum is much wider than the radio spectrum and moving to a new range of frequencies will ease the upcoming capacity issues.  Also, the author noted security benefits of the visible spectrum in that it does not go through walls and is available to only devices within sight of the signal.  As a result, it is more transparent who is able to access the wireless signal.

While this is a new idea and is only being developed (although a demonstration of this unit in action was provided) there certainly is potential for this innovative use of existing light sources.  It is good to see new ideas in solving problems in the information technology field.  I hope to see this theory continue to be developed and, eventually deployed.

Online Life

For many years I avoided creating a Facebook account.  I understand the benefits of this service and also see how it can also eat away at free time.  Mostly I felt uncomfortable mixing my professional life with personal life by having my students and colleagues exposed to the same postings as I would potentially share with my family and friends.  I also accepted the fact that I'm not all that social so I really wouldn't have much to share.

This past week I took the plunge into the social networking world and created a Google+ account.  I thought that, through the use of the different circles within Google +, I should be able to compartmentalize my different lives.  I setup my profile and uploaded my picture (the same picture I use for this blog).  I also sent invitations to my family but my daughter (who is under 18) is not able to join yet and she is a little irked by this.  Now I'm not sure what to do next and how much information I want to put into this account and how much time I want to spend on this.

As I was setting up the Google+ account I was thinking if this is different than my LinkedIn account?  It seems I can use my professional circles to cover the same functionality offered through LinkedIn.  If many of my professional contacts join Google+ I think LinkedIn becomes redundant.  Even now, I don't see a lot of value in LinkedIn so I'm not sure how Google+ will make a case for professional networking; hopefully it will offer new services to help foster these professional relationships.

I think Google+ will give Facebook a run for its money but it may also cause disruption in social networking by having two different platforms.  With these two platforms we have to worry about the platform where friends and colleagues reside.  It reminds me of the Mac/PC struggles in the 1980s and 1990s where the platforms caused incompatibilities and forced us to choose one platform or the other.  Perhaps this time we can find ways to interface between the two platforms.

Only time will tell if Google+ can be as successful as Facebook or if it will be another Google experiment like Buzz and Orkut.  I wonder how much time I should invest in building an online life in Google+.  I'll have to evaluate my time investment as I play with this serve a little more.