No Rush
BY INGE COATES | Communications and Technology Committee
I was delighted to find the email in my inbox informing me that my long-awaited parcel would arrive by courier some time on Friday . Then I realized that no one would be home on Friday . No problem — the email let me know that I could reschedule the delivery . Except , in order to reschedule , I had to apply for the app provided by the courier company , and I had to do that online because I could not find a phone number on their email or on their website . The application started with the usual information : name , address , and email address . But , when they wanted my driver ’ s license number I stopped . Why do they need my driver ’ s license number ?
I backed through the entire form , deleted all my entries , and searched for their privacy information , which is often a section in a ‘ Terms and Conditions ’ document . Many people just click on ‘ accept ’ when this document is offered , without reading it , because it is long , uses a tiny font , and starts with information that seems unimportant or common sense . The ‘ privacy ’ portion is usually closer to the end and takes a while to get to . I am retired — I have time — so I read the privacy section . I found out that my personal information could be passed to any organization that has business with this courier company or any organization that is affiliated in any way with it . Huge , multifaceted corporations are constantly merging or selling out to other corporations . My imagination saw my driver ’ s license number published throughout the world .
At one time , the term ‘ knowledge economy ’ referred to web-based tools that connected people to the information or products they needed in a timely manner . For example , a fisherman and a restaurant could use such a tool to coordinate the variety of freshly caught fish that would appear on the menu that day .
In today ’ s world , ‘ knowledge ’ includes personal information that allows companies to track our purchases , hobbies , and even our travels in order to customize advertising that should appeal to us , or offer an information trail that we would be inclined to follow . This information has value and has become a new version of knowledge economy .
Marshall McLuhan , whose prescient insights into the effects of communication technologies are still pertinent thirty years after his death , predicted the World Wide Web three decades before its invention and coined expressions still used today like the global village , and the medium is the message . He also theorized that media has the power to magnify . Radio magnifies hearing ; television magnifies seeing .
Today , there are some who feel that the Internet magnifies human nature . We crave instant knowledge and easy communication , and the Internet gives this to us . YouTube shows us several versions of how to fix almost anything , or gives us a chuckle as we watch pets do funny things . TED talks give us new insights into ideas from great thinkers all over the world . We
22 | www . arta . net