Week 3 - 6/12-6/19 - Digital footprint
While technology seeks to make our lives easier it also seems to make our lives just a bit more complicated. The advent of big data has shockingly made everything both more convenient and ethically/morally gray. I hate to be called a conspiracy theorist, but everyone is watching what we are doing. Mass surveillance isn't a new concept. Orwellian, yes, but entirely wide-sweeping and sometimes unsettling. I don't think George Orwell expected us to willingly buy the surveillance devices, yet here we are with computers in our pockets, checking on us rapidly and cataloging our every click, search, and desire. How far does it go though? Well, that's something we'll be likely to figure out in the next few months. We're still in the dark about a lot of this, as that is the nature of power and corruption in the world. The elites are tightening the reins as we speak. Are we slaves to this footprint? Online reputation management is one thing, because we publicly include this information, but what else is out there? What can't I search for?
One of the articles I read this week was about visualizing, constructing, and analyzing digital footprints. The authors of this article referred to this really interesting philosopher named Michael Foucault speaking about the concept of "Panopticon," which essentially deals with mass surveillance. If we know we're being watched, we do nothing wrong, right? I think this concept really made me leave my little bubble of the world. Mass surveillance is nothing new, and it's likely here to stay, but we can certainly manage it a little bit.
My digital footprint seems to be quite minimal. All I can find are my learning logs and my MET website. Even when I add Boise to the search, it returns minimal results. I must have a somewhat common name. The first image that comes up is of me though, because that's connected directly to my learning log. I use this picture in my "get to know the teacher" speech at the beginning of the school year and parent night. When I search my full name, nothing about me comes up. I suppose I've been monitoring my digital footprint for a long time now, as I knew that being a public school teacher would have teenagers googling my name fairly often.
So, I've created a ten step plan for myself, (and hopefully others), that will help me maintain my fairly ordinary digital footprint.
Here it is:
Reference:
Weaver, S. D., & Gahegan, M. (2007). Constructing, visualizing, and analyzing a digital footprint. Geographical Review, 97(3), 324-350.
One of the articles I read this week was about visualizing, constructing, and analyzing digital footprints. The authors of this article referred to this really interesting philosopher named Michael Foucault speaking about the concept of "Panopticon," which essentially deals with mass surveillance. If we know we're being watched, we do nothing wrong, right? I think this concept really made me leave my little bubble of the world. Mass surveillance is nothing new, and it's likely here to stay, but we can certainly manage it a little bit.
My digital footprint seems to be quite minimal. All I can find are my learning logs and my MET website. Even when I add Boise to the search, it returns minimal results. I must have a somewhat common name. The first image that comes up is of me though, because that's connected directly to my learning log. I use this picture in my "get to know the teacher" speech at the beginning of the school year and parent night. When I search my full name, nothing about me comes up. I suppose I've been monitoring my digital footprint for a long time now, as I knew that being a public school teacher would have teenagers googling my name fairly often.
So, I've created a ten step plan for myself, (and hopefully others), that will help me maintain my fairly ordinary digital footprint.
Here it is:
Reference:
Weaver, S. D., & Gahegan, M. (2007). Constructing, visualizing, and analyzing a digital footprint. Geographical Review, 97(3), 324-350.
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