Mind the Neighbors

Posted on July 22, 2009 by Michael Froomkin

OK, here's a question:

(source: Dante Shephard, survivingtheworld.net)

I suppose one answer is that people sign up for a Twitter feed….

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8 Responses to Mind the Neighbors

  1. Patrick Nielsen Hayden says:
    July 22, 2009 at 7:06 am

    Another answer is to ask why this is anything other than a witless question.

  2. efink says:
    July 22, 2009 at 8:31 am

    And another answer is, “That dude seriously needs to lose the chin beard.” OK, that’s not really an answer; but it’s still true.

  3. michael says:
    July 22, 2009 at 9:23 am

    I don’t think the question is utterly witless. There are some real and as yet poorly understood issues about the consequences of Twittering the details of your life, not least that it likely will aid in the de-anonymization of other data sets about you, and provides links between previously discrete data sets about you, both of which help create a rather robust dossier about the overshared life. I took this to be an (imperfect) attempt to get people to think a bit about what they share, where, and why.

  4. Just me says:
    July 22, 2009 at 12:53 pm

    I am curious to see what happens to the first of the social networking generation political candidates. Will they be eaten alive for what they posted on the Internet years before running for office, or will there be some level of understanding for the new public youth of the majority of Americans? How long will it take to sort this out? How long will it take before it starts? Will it be like Bill Clinton and the whole “I did not inhale thing,” followed by two presidents that have openly admitted use of drugs with little or no consequences during the campaign?

  5. Twitter_lover says:
    July 22, 2009 at 3:21 pm

    Wouldn’t it be something if Obama would twitter about the private meetings he’s been having with pharmaceutical and other top industry executives?

    Remember how the left screamed bloody murder when Cheney met with energy execs and didn’t make those details public? If only Cheney had twittered the details, all would be well.

    But its all good. History has taught me to blindly trust my leaders, and if Obama wants to keep it a secret how much influence big Pharma and others are having on policy, well I’m sure he knows what’s best.

    I just wish he would give us more twitter updates on the White House dog, and what kind of gown Michelle is going to wear for their next taxpayer funded “date night”.

  7. pujafrezel says:
    July 24, 2009 at 3:25 pm

    Hello everyone i am completely new to this forum.
    Interested in learning many new things. Hope we all will share our
    knowledge and talk about different concepts in this forum.
    Thanks for post. It’s really imformative stuff.

    I really like to read.Hope to learn a lot and have a nice experience here! my best regards guys!
    if possible answer me witless?

  8. Brett Bellmore says:
    July 25, 2009 at 7:42 am

    Answer: This is a really stupid analogy. If my next door neighbor starts shouting out details of his life with a megaphone, I’ve got no choice about hearing it. If he twitters details of his life, I won’t even know it, because like most people, I don’t receive twitters.

    You have to go out of your way to hear about his life, if he twitters it. So it’s completely different.

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