In the very near future you might notice a new Facebook friend request from a strange person with a name very similar to mine. Or you might not notice, and don’t really care. In any case, stay with me here as I explain why creating a new profile to continue Facebooking is important to me (skip to the end for a one sentence summary of this post).
Due to the extensive and ongoing coverage of the mass data-mining, information abuse and identity theft, I have chosen to begin reclaiming my personal information. I’m doing this by actively removing personal tidbits of info off of any online profile associated with my real name (a basic rule of thumb is to never give anyone who doesn’t absolutely need it DOB, home address, or any part of your SSN).
The boundaries of privacy are being reshaped and reimagined every day, by processes both out of and in our control. I’ve noticed a shift in the way Facebook is asking me to interact with it… it seems as if its purpose has shifted to subtly draw personal information out of me, and it feels like it’s getting worse every day. There are reasons this might benefit me as an individual, and many more why it does not. It is important for me to stay connected with all of you, but in an online environment separate from my own personal information. I could simply disable my Facebook page; however, I’m a work within the system kind of guy. Feel free to discuss any of this with me anytime, I’m always open to hear your ideas and share my own.
These are things I remind myself of every day: Never put personal information on the internet. Never share passwords or allow third party apps access to personal online profiles.
TL;DR: I am spending many painstaking hours transferring my contacts (you!) to a new Facebook in an attempt to regain control of my personal information, so please bear with me and accept my “friend” request if you wish to still be connected through this platform. If not, I look forward to seeing you IRL. Thanks everyone!!
…and yes, I understand the irony of this blog post.