Internet isn't a privacy affair, *Gasp!* It's public? Oh noes!
The boundaries between what is public and what is private is often confused by many, and many fail to see that what they may feel is private is being made public. I will again touch the nature of Xanga, Myspace, and these personal blogs. I touch on this issue a lot, as its interesting to see how the boundary between public and private is disintegrating. People love to get upset when someone criticizes a statement or idea when it is posted online. When one posts a view of religion on the internet for the world to see, whether its on a blog or a website, it is then open to criticism from the people who view it. My views posted here are open to criticisms, and I welcome that, because I am aware what i write can be read by anyone, and I do not post anything which i would not want certain people to read.
I love to criticize Religion, its amazing that people are more than happy to post their love for Jesus but then like to censor their critics that post objections on their public blog. As Richard Dawkins writes in his book The God Delusion, people automatically give Religion protections that no other person or institution has. People are allowed to disagree on politics, economics, philosophy, and pretty much anything, but when someone criticizes someones religion, OH NOEZ, thats too personal. Is it wrong for someone to criticize someone who states that Adolf Hitler is their role model on a public blog? An essential part of the blog is the ability for people who may or may not be familiar with the person or idea to make a comment on it, it actually makes the blog grow.
Adolf Hitler was a man who was responsible for the ordering of the deaths of many, so someone who posts a positive comment about Hitler must be prepared to face scrutiny from those who feel strongly about the holocaust. The same applies to Jesus, if someone writes on a PUBLIC blog, and by public I mean a website which anyone has the ability to view, then they must be willing to defend their views on Jesus. The account for the life of Jesus is also open to scrutiny, unless you can somehow provide hard evidence that Jesus walked on water or whatever (The Bible is not evidence). I should also note that Banning people from viewing your blog does not work, as those banned can just disguise or log on another ip address or computer to view and comment on your blog. Anything on the internet or in the form of a website should be open to scrutiny, which is my main criticism of the right-wing Myspace. Restricting viewers of a website to a small few does not make it any more private, as the information posted is still available and any hacker can find a way to view it (though it is unlikely as no one probably cares) or the information can find another way to spread (print-screen image, paste in email, send!)
Another point regarding the "privacy" of information posted on a blog is that one must not get upset when they can see that someone they did not want to read their "private" information actually logs on and reads it! It is obvious by now that I object to anyone posting their personal life or daily routine on the internet, as doing so eliminates the idea of you having a personal life when you just put it on the internet for an asshole like myself to read. Remember, its the internet, anyone with an internet connection or basic computer skills will be able to see your writing.
So, for example, if someone decides to post on a blog their feelings about someone or post information about a "private" relationship they may or may not have with someone, they can't be surprised or upset when they find out that Brian Pepper Sexual Predator now has more than enough details about the relationship to write a book on it. The same goes for someone who writes about how they cut school and then find out that their parents read their blog. If you don't want them to read it, then don't write it. If you write about how you like someone or are feeling depressed over someone or something don't get upset when your arch nemesis has been reading your blog, because you are the one to allow this information to be publicly available. There is no such thing as an online diary!
Nancy Flynn writes in her book Blog Rules: A Business Guide to Managing Policy, Public Relations, And Legal Issues about how people can actually get in trouble or fired when they criticize the company they work for on a blog. Those people deserve to get fired for being ignorant on when and where to voice their criticisms and for not anticipating the idea that their may be a chance the person you write about might be reading your blog. The argument that what you wrote is private will not work because of the fact that the entire world has the ability to read it. If you criticize your boss or post internal secrets then be prepared that someone will read it and might have an involvement in the subject matter being discussed.
In conclusion, the surge of internet use and internet communities has been biting away on that rope that separates the public and the private. Myspace and these other websites only add to the illusion that you have privacy on the internet, when in fact anyone with the right means can view your information. Posting your personal picture on the internet also allows people to save it, MS PAINT it, or just steal and reuse it. What you write online is subject to criticisms in some form or another because that is how one furthers their knowledge of position on an issue. If someone objects to anything written here, feel free to criticize. I might not even respond to the criticisms other than read them and in a sense let them become part of the post itself.
Works Cited
Dawkins, Richard. The God Delusion. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2006.
Flynn, Nancy. Blog Rules: a Business Guide to Managing Policy, Public Relations, and Legal Issues. New York: AMACOM, 2006.
I love to criticize Religion, its amazing that people are more than happy to post their love for Jesus but then like to censor their critics that post objections on their public blog. As Richard Dawkins writes in his book The God Delusion, people automatically give Religion protections that no other person or institution has. People are allowed to disagree on politics, economics, philosophy, and pretty much anything, but when someone criticizes someones religion, OH NOEZ, thats too personal. Is it wrong for someone to criticize someone who states that Adolf Hitler is their role model on a public blog? An essential part of the blog is the ability for people who may or may not be familiar with the person or idea to make a comment on it, it actually makes the blog grow.
Adolf Hitler was a man who was responsible for the ordering of the deaths of many, so someone who posts a positive comment about Hitler must be prepared to face scrutiny from those who feel strongly about the holocaust. The same applies to Jesus, if someone writes on a PUBLIC blog, and by public I mean a website which anyone has the ability to view, then they must be willing to defend their views on Jesus. The account for the life of Jesus is also open to scrutiny, unless you can somehow provide hard evidence that Jesus walked on water or whatever (The Bible is not evidence). I should also note that Banning people from viewing your blog does not work, as those banned can just disguise or log on another ip address or computer to view and comment on your blog. Anything on the internet or in the form of a website should be open to scrutiny, which is my main criticism of the right-wing Myspace. Restricting viewers of a website to a small few does not make it any more private, as the information posted is still available and any hacker can find a way to view it (though it is unlikely as no one probably cares) or the information can find another way to spread (print-screen image, paste in email, send!)
Another point regarding the "privacy" of information posted on a blog is that one must not get upset when they can see that someone they did not want to read their "private" information actually logs on and reads it! It is obvious by now that I object to anyone posting their personal life or daily routine on the internet, as doing so eliminates the idea of you having a personal life when you just put it on the internet for an asshole like myself to read. Remember, its the internet, anyone with an internet connection or basic computer skills will be able to see your writing.
So, for example, if someone decides to post on a blog their feelings about someone or post information about a "private" relationship they may or may not have with someone, they can't be surprised or upset when they find out that Brian Pepper Sexual Predator now has more than enough details about the relationship to write a book on it. The same goes for someone who writes about how they cut school and then find out that their parents read their blog. If you don't want them to read it, then don't write it. If you write about how you like someone or are feeling depressed over someone or something don't get upset when your arch nemesis has been reading your blog, because you are the one to allow this information to be publicly available. There is no such thing as an online diary!
Nancy Flynn writes in her book Blog Rules: A Business Guide to Managing Policy, Public Relations, And Legal Issues about how people can actually get in trouble or fired when they criticize the company they work for on a blog. Those people deserve to get fired for being ignorant on when and where to voice their criticisms and for not anticipating the idea that their may be a chance the person you write about might be reading your blog. The argument that what you wrote is private will not work because of the fact that the entire world has the ability to read it. If you criticize your boss or post internal secrets then be prepared that someone will read it and might have an involvement in the subject matter being discussed.
In conclusion, the surge of internet use and internet communities has been biting away on that rope that separates the public and the private. Myspace and these other websites only add to the illusion that you have privacy on the internet, when in fact anyone with the right means can view your information. Posting your personal picture on the internet also allows people to save it, MS PAINT it, or just steal and reuse it. What you write online is subject to criticisms in some form or another because that is how one furthers their knowledge of position on an issue. If someone objects to anything written here, feel free to criticize. I might not even respond to the criticisms other than read them and in a sense let them become part of the post itself.
Works Cited
Dawkins, Richard. The God Delusion. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2006.
Flynn, Nancy. Blog Rules: a Business Guide to Managing Policy, Public Relations, and Legal Issues. New York: AMACOM, 2006.