Privacy

How do you feel about your privacy?! For me and for most of people privacy is to be preserved. What happens in your life is not be known to anyone else out of the people (friends, family, co-workers, whatever) you want.

Have read lately about it and I know that whatever you post in internet is being watched! It looks like that conspiracy movies made in USA... Ok, maybe am over reacting, but that's how I feel now.

I have profiles in facebook and twitter, only to mention a few... Facebook is closed, so only who I accept/invite as friends can see my posts, photos, contact details, etc. Twitter was also closed before, but once after sometime I couldn't post directly from twitter to facebook (due to the fact that twitter was closed) I changed the settings just to avoid double typing... Which means that my twitter profile became open to everyone to see!

Naturally while my profile was closed in twitter I had to approve whatever follower coming around and in this case I avoided lots of spams, but nowadays once I've opened it, I have spams following me every time. So, what I do is to go there, block and report as spam, but still once my profile is open everyone can see what is there, what in a country like Brazil could be dangerous. 

Only one example. I have foursquare a location based social network where you can check-in all the time you arrive somewhere and automatically it goes to your facebook and twitter profiles. Meaning: once twitter is open, everyone can know where I am and at what time... what if some bandits who plan to rob my house see it?!!!

Another more annoying fact is that for several times, as soon as I posted something like: "thinking to buy a car", in a matter of seconds came an answer/advertising/spam showing lots of options for buying a car. It really made me uncomfortable cause it gave me a clear picture that I've been watched. It's not a good feeling!

For sure there are mechanisms on internet which allows companies, institutions or whatever else to track any "key words" you post, so again if you mention you are hungry and want a pizza delivery you will get straight away lots of pizza delivery ads...

Now I ask you: do you really want this? I don't!

I am back to Brazil after some years living abroad. As soon as I arrived here went to my bank to check how things were, get to know my manager, etc. Haven't liked what I saw and when back home just innocently posted in twitter: "dun like idiots, but just met one of a kind in my bank (mentioned the name of the bank)". In a few seconds got a replay from the bank asking what was wrong and whether they could help in anything.

Even though I know about these things, I was shocked. How dare these institutions dig into my life like this?

In the other day had to come back to the bank to release my investments and was mad again cause rules have changed and I had to go to a series of new procedures. I was really upset cause I wanted to release these investments when I was out of Brazil, but by that time it was not possible by phone or internet, only in person with forms. Knowing this I went there in search for the form, but it was not required anymore. Nowadays if I wanted to release my investments it should be via phone, but I would have to register a specific password, bank card etc, beforehand.

I did it, but it took me an hour. That without mention that on the telemarketing I talked to people who had no idea about anything and had to follow certain procedures, like to explain me that it was an investment I made and it could give me a nice life bla bla bla... Fuck: I dun care. It is my money and I want to release without listening to this sort of bullshit.

Back home, was so upset that I wrote a text about it in my blog which I made sure to mention the name of the bank several times. Am like this: I knew they would track me again so I used it in my favor... Wrote a very nice text with all the complaints and one day later got a replay from someone in the bank explaining the situation. That they use this to improve their services, that they care about privacy, etc, but again.. that institution invaded my privacy for a second time. Now reading my blog... I didn't asked for it!

It brought me to a reflexion: what kind of internet we want? Is it to be used in our favor or to benefit someone else? I don't mind if it can bring benefits to third parties, but how about my privacy? I don't know about you guys, but I don't fell comfortable with that. Now I am even more afraid to take a shower naked in my backyard and being snapt in Google street! It could happen!

I know that internet is a open service, but for me it doesn't mean everything is open. How about that hot conversation on MSN or Skype? Are we going soon to mention the word sex and receive a lot of ads about condoms?

Some months ago when all that controversy about Facebook Privacy settings came out I was one of those  who criticized them the most. It is my profile and I dun want anyone else other than my friends (by friends I mean people whose I accepted) to have access to them. Fuck, everyone here has an ex-wife-husband-boy/girlffriend, co-work, boss etc whose we don't want them to have access to our life.

Again, I'm able to understand that the corporative world will try to find all means available to monitor and follow up their business as a tool to correct directions, but in which base this should be done?

I guess all of it happened cause I opened up my twitter to public view only to be able to post directly to facebook, so I will close my profile again and control everything but my question is: will this be enough? As soon as I do it only people or whoever I approve will see my things? I'm not sure, but I would like to bring this issue to discussion.

I believe that internet is an open source thing, but countries should regulate what goes on there. Well, we can see the example for instance of China where if you google something that the Government doesn't want anyone to see like the massacre of Tiananmen Square you will get blocked...
Please, am not saying I agree to that, this is oppressive and goes against any civil rights and anything I believe of, but as a principle it shows there are ways to prevent or at least to show me that that institution which I don't follow or not even follows me is digging into my things and it could give me the option to say yes or no.