Digital ID Coach

Copy HTML:

If you like this then please subscribe to the RSS Feed.

friends/family, tools @nurturegirl, Boston, Facebook, Jean Russell, LinkedIn, MySpace, reputation, social media, social network, social networks

Digital Eviction?

January 17th, 2009

1 comment

Phil Wolff has a great post about on his DataPortability Blog about The Power to Fight Eviction. He’s talking about what happens when a service that you’ve been using–and have data stored on–shuts down. Phil points out the tension between the business needs of a service provider and the intellectual property rights of the users.

The question is broader than the one product.

It goes to the tension between consumer rights, enterprise service rights, and the health of our society. For example, if a province decides to demolish your building, you have many rights under law to contest that decision. In the US, many cities have laws about protecting historic landmark buildings.

Phil’s post offers six actions that might be appropriate to redress the imbalance of power between a user and the service provider. Briefly, those include:

Intervention with a back-up service
Prevent and educate on graceful exit strategy
Commit to adding appropriate language to contracts (EULAs and TOSs)
Insure your digital assets
Advocate for the little guy
Enforce with real laws and penalties

Coaching Moment: Why is this matter important to digital identity? If it’s an email service, you may have been using that address for a while. The service provider has your address book. They have all of your email. That’s a part of you, right? Or how about a service that you use to create stuff or do paying work? Do you have a back-up? Could you make a back-up? If the provider offers a unique service, is there any way to keep doing this work? What about getting access to your past files? You might imagine, as I do, that there’s a strong need to start talking about creating protection mechanisms for our online work. Like Phil pointed out, everything dies. Let’s work to make that a graceful passing.

Close Bookmark and Share This Page

Copy HTML:

If you like this then please subscribe to the RSS Feed.

future, history, records address book, archives, backups, email, email address, exit strategy, online work, Phil Wolff, service providers, social responsibility, work

No Data Privacy Anyday

January 17th, 2009

1 comment

“We Live In Public” is an intriguing and scary project that’s not unlike the last few years of “reality” TV. Here’s the trailer:

The comments on this page have a 10 minute trailer that should really shake you.

History should tell you that this scenario is entirely possible in so many ways. As Sebastian points out in his post Context, Privacy and Personas, it’s important to realize where you are, what you’re saying and to whom, and how that setting translates to privacy (or not).

Coaching moment: We’re not used to thinking so deeply about our context. On one hand, it is our unique personality that attracts others. On the other hand, it’s also what makes us easily identifiable. Do you think much about your data (conversations, pictures and videos, etc.) and how publicly it’s shared? We do not have exclusive control over our lives since we trust our data to various service providers, but we can live more mindfully of what we’re saying when.

Close Bookmark and Share This Page

Copy HTML:

If you like this then please subscribe to the RSS Feed.

future, records context, data privacy law, privacy, private, Public

Data Privacy Day 2009

January 16th, 2009

No comments

Do you have a friend like this?

A group of organizations, including Intel, the International Association of Privacy Professionals, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario, several universities and government agencies, the European Commission, and lots more, have announced the second Data Privacy Day.

On January 28, 2009, the United States, Canada, and 27 European countries will celebrate Data Privacy Day together for the second time.

Designed to raise awareness and generate discussion about data privacy practices and rights, Data Privacy Day activities in the United States have included privacy professionals, corporations, government officials, and representatives, academics, and students across the country.

One of the primary goals of Data Privacy Day is to promote privacy awareness and education among teens across the United States. Data Privacy Day also serves the important purpose of furthering international collaboration and cooperation around privacy issues.

I wrote a post called Take Back Your Self that talks about why the concept of a digital self, or identity, is important to protect. I strongly support the passage of a comprehensive data privacy law, as described in Bruce Schneier’s article. But before we can get a draft for a new law going, we need to encourage a better understanding of what digital identity is all about, and why it matters to protect it.

Take a look at some of the resources available on this page to see if there is anything you can share. I’ll be blogging more as we get closer to Data Privacy Day 2009.

Close Bookmark and Share This Page

Copy HTML:

If you like this then please subscribe to the RSS Feed.

records, tools Bruce Schneier, Canada, Data Privacy Day, data privacy law, digital identity, European Commission, event, government agencies, Intel, Intel Corporation, International Association of Privacy Professionals, law going, Office of the Information and Privacy, online identity, Ontario, privacy, protection, United States

Effective Change

January 11th, 2009

No comments

Lately I’ve been talking with people about change. I think there are two things that converge to make this topic timely: the New Year (and concurrent resolution-making), and seasonal affective disorder (depression). For some people, especially those living in northern areas where the days seem to end in mid-afternoon, this is a terrible time of year. The combination of resolutions that can’t be kept (for any reason) and seasonal depression is a double whammy. Then combine this with stress (your job, the economy, you name it), which can lead to insomnia… oh boy, something needs to change!

Not far away, in a parallel universe, businesses are going through the same thing: post-holiday blues, new fiscal year and the need to adjust priorities and resources (including lay-offs), possibly moody managers… sound familiar? Something needs to change!

If you see any truth in what I’m saying, congratulations! You’ve taken your first step: recognizing that there’s a problem.

If you’re now ready to take action on this problem, congratulations! You’re on your way. Being in the right frame of mind to make a change is the second step.

You may have gotten this far when you made your New Year’s resolutions. Now let’s keep that up and take the next step. Do not be discouraged by temporary set-backs. Call the set-backs for what they are: temporary, attitude, not really committed to change, whatever. Give yourself options.

Enlist the help of a friend, a coach, a partner, or someone who can give you encouragement and accountability. Don’t ask for help from someone who wants to change or control your process for you; that won’t work. Groups are sometimes more helpful than a single helper, especially for tasks like getting more exercise.

What’s the next step? That depends on what you’re trying to accomplish. Here are a few links that might be helpful.

Depressed? Check out cognitive behavioral therapy and exercise.
Depressed because of gray skies, not enough sun? Try lighting up your world.
Desire Always Precedes Change (on changing an organization) by Rosa Say
Work on Stuff that Matters: First Principles by Tim O’Reilly

Close Bookmark and Share This Page

Copy HTML:

If you like this then please subscribe to the RSS Feed.