Privacy

Have you ever been in a love/hate relationship?

I am, with the Internet.

I love being able to jump from place to place, from interest to interest, from continent to, well, anyplace I want to go, like libraries in New Zealand or Pluto, now just a lonely blip on the edge of the solar system. But I am also absolutely petrified of what I am going to find out there in the invisible world of ether. More to the point, I have nightmares about what is going to find me.

From hackers to predators, from identity thieves to serial killers, they are there possibly on the net waiting for a little fish to swim by. I know it seems so paranoid, but I can't seem to help it. I resisted online banking and blogging. I am still kind of cautious about doing electronic business and I try to keep my personal information fairly secret. I blog more than I ever thought that I would because I had to in my library classes, but I still have a hard time deciding what things I want to talk about because so much of the net seems so inane anyway.

I love the net too, don't get me wrong, the idea that my heroes are out there surfing the net just waiting for a fan to cruise by is awesome. The ability to network with colleagues from around the world is just too good an opportunity to pass up. But as with all things, caution must be employed. Being safe must be of greatest concern.

Having waxed paranoid, I must say that I am still excited about the opportunities that are offered on the Internet. The ability to learn about new places, new subjects, and new people is exhilarating; the ability to put my own opinions out to be discussed and debated is thrilling, and the chance to make a difference in some one's life when I didn't know I could is priceless beyond measure. So, I am going to continue to move cautiously about in the ocean of information. I am going to learn how to navigate the depths as safely as is possible and I am going to learn new technologies so I can teach others how to do the same.