Google Knol, and Online Privacy
As mentioned in Mitchell Irons‘ Oregano blog, Google’s new Knol project is now live. It’s basically a copy of Wikipedia, with an important difference: Users are strongly encouraged to use their real names, instead of internet handles. In other words, there’s no anonymity on this project.
Admittedly, in this instance, it’s not necessarily a bad thing. The idea behind Knol is to create a reputable source of information (perhaps trying to improve on the non-reference-material reputation of Wikipedia?), and without the shield of internet anonymity, the information gathered is theoretically more likely to be accurate. However, this also marks a new step in the removal of anonymity on the internet. Sites like Facebook, and even more-anonymous sites like Myspace, are creating an environment where one’s online activities are directly traceable to their real-life identity, even moreso than they used to be.
Now, in some situations, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. However, some people don’t like tossing their real-life information around so freely. Personally, I grew up at a time when online predators were the new scary thing, so from a very young age, I was ingrained with the “don’t ever post your real-life information on the internet, or bad people will get you” advice that seems to be ignored by kids today. And, for one reason or another, that advice stuck with me over the years. I’m not afraid of predators, stalkers, or anything of the sort, but I do find it liberating to be able to express myself freely online without having easy traces back to my real-life identity and professional career. So, to this day, I’m not comfortable posting my legal name, physical address, amateur radio callsign, phone numbers, or photos of myself in any public form online. Which is why you’ll never find me on sites like Facebook, which are dedicated to sharing such information.
By contrast, as early as age 15, my little sister had her real name, street address, phone number, photos, and even her f***ing school schedule posted on Myspace. As far as I’m aware, she’s never had problems resulting from such disclosure, but I spent years worrying about her, half-expecting to have to chase some creep away from the house with my rifle one day.
I’ll be curious to see how this trend progresses in the future. I fear the day when my real identity is blatantly attached to everything I do online, because that day will mark the death of the internet as we know it; a place to freely communicate with others and share ideas that can’t be shared in the real world.
August 15th, 2008 at 21:45:06
i wonder if we’ve passed the point of no return. is it possible to return to those days where anonymity on the internet could be kept and could be absolute? Sites such as FB.com and Google Knol have pushed the envelope so far that I doubt we could ever go back.
For better or for worse, the internet is an everyday fact of life and used as recreation, sport, work, and pleasure by many different walks of life in the west. I often wonder nowadays if, like your little sister, who’s grown up in this environment (but perhaps is a little more tech-savvy than the likes of us), we are left to only play with the hand dealt to us..
August 16th, 2008 at 3:37:46
Honestly, we probably are beyond the point of no return, at least for the bulk of casual users. We can wish, though
And, I’d debate my sister’s tech savvy-ness, the only thing computer-related that she’s better than me at is editing photographs with Photoshop. But that’s another story.
Thanks for dropping by!