Nathaniel Hoover | Guy Whose Website You're Viewing
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On Public Visibility

1/17/2013

8 Comments

 
Sometimes I wonder how much is too much when it comes to disclosing personal information online. Whether it's something as public as this blog or as private as Facebook (at least, the imaginary privacy-oriented Facebook I suspect most people think they're posting to), I tend to use the same amount of discretion in everything I share: that is, I tell you everything, and at the same time, nothing. If I think it'll facilitate a meaningful discussion, I'll talk about absolutely anything. If I think sharing something could potentially do more harm than good, I'll withhold it.

If I've been doing my job properly, a total stranger should have a vague ballpark of my age, be aware I have a wife, assume I work some sort of job, accept that I live on the moon but spend most of my time somewhere on the east coast of the US, and be able to explain in excruciating detail my thoughts and opinions on Star Trek, Mega Man, and a host of other geeky interests. Stalkers and hackers will always find a way to dig up more information if they want it badly enough, but I'm not in the habit of giving handouts—if you don't need to know my birthday or when I'll be out of the house, then you probably won't hear it from me.

That's part of the trouble, though—you probably won't hear it from me. You probably will hear it from somebody else. Suppose I'm out to dinner with some friends who take a picture of us with their cameras, and upload the photos to Facebook with a geographical location tag announcing that we are at this specific Denny's, come rob our houses before the check comes! Put enough of those location tags together on a map, and you can pretty much pinpoint where I live. Wait until somebody posts a photo album of "Nathaniel's X-tieth Birthday Party," and you've got my age and approximate birth date, too. We place an awful lot of trust in the global community to care about our personal information for the same reasons we do, and all it takes is one person—a total stranger, or someone you thought was a friend—to abuse that trust.

I think about celebrities--real celebrities, like, say, Carrot Top—who have virtually no privacy. Surely there should be no problem finding out where they live, what their phone number is, and what their computer password is likely to be. I'll bet there's a website somewhere that tracks every time Tom Cruise has the hiccups. With that kind of public visibility, how could anyone possibly keep a tight rein on their personal information?

I suppose it's comforting, in a way, to rarely hear about celebrities getting their Twitter account hacked or their trash getting sorted through by overzealous fans. Or maybe that happens all the time; I don't follow entertainment news.

Scary thought: Maybe it happens all the time, and nobody says anything because they're just used to it.


8 Comments
Teig link
1/17/2013 11:10:18 am

Interesting. Been thinking about this a lot as of late, since my blog which was started to highlight my political writing has turned into rambling proclamations to the world. I wonder when the first person will take my blog and use it against me.

Reply
Nathaniel
2/21/2013 05:08:49 am

Part of what makes your writing so compelling is the unfiltered honesty. As long as you know the risks and are willing to deal with the consequences, I don't think it matters what you write—if something needs to be said, then say it. In the long run, that openness might lead to just as many opportunities and connections you would've missed out on otherwise.

Reply
Joseph Martin link
1/18/2013 05:41:57 am

Internet Celebrities vs. "Real Life" Celebrities is an interesting idea. I guess a major difference in privacy danger is that Real Life celebrities have tons of money with which they can spend on people to keep them safe from crazy "fans." Either that, or they can afford hi-tech security systems. Even excluding all that, celebrities have whole teams of lawyers and agents who are there to legally attack anyone who oversteps boundries.

However, if you talk about people who are popular on the internet, even remotely so to big names on the web, outside of their internet fame and the fact that some don't have to work another job to keep a steady income, they're pretty much normal people. At least, in terms of what they can do to defend against things like this. It can be a scary thought that there are hundreds to thousands of people who potentially think of some celebrity as a friend just because their work has become such a regular part of their lives. Also, internet celebritidom is put on a much more personal level, because often the content is viewed while the viewer is in a solitary situation, while big name actors or speakers gennerally have crowds of people in stadiums and theaters when their content is viewed. By pandering to the individual, internet celebrities can connect better with their fans, which can in turn cause the fans to loose sight of social boundaries and go too far in something that may seem harmless or just curiosity to them.

That's what my stream on consciousness tells me anyways.

Reply
Nathaniel
2/21/2013 05:11:18 am

Very good points—I think your stream of consciousness is right on target.

Reply
Sara Face
1/18/2013 09:15:30 pm

It's a "better safe than sorry" situation. Don't disclose anything you don't have a natural reason to mention. Within the pseudo-safety net of a fan base you can easily feel compelled to reveal bits about yourself with a false sense of security. We're here for your ideas, stories, and personality. Protect yourself first.

Reply
Nathaniel
2/21/2013 05:13:00 am

Right. I think part of the trouble is that we don't always realize what we're disclosing—piece together enough off-hand comments, and you can probably figure out when someone was born, where they live, etc.

Reply
Trevor Fox
1/19/2013 12:16:44 pm

You have probably the best cover photo ever.

Reply
Nathaniel
2/21/2013 05:13:54 am

Thank you—I'm rather pleased by that one, m'self.

Reply

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    This work by Nathaniel Hoover is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
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