I believe that Internet privacy is overrated. Back when the Internet was first introduced to the public, the concept of tracking user data through cookies and the cache were a pretty big deal. Advertisers would obviously use the information super highway as a medium to attract consumers, and utilize the cookies to find out where you've been on the net, allowing companies to see whatever your 'anonymous' antics on the web are. Today, this is pretty much commonplace. Cookies are something that every user pretty much are subject to, and yes, advertisers are using this to appeal to you (think Facebook). So instead, people have become concerned with how their information is being used rather than complaining on whether the said companies have private information in the first place. But, like I said before, it is very likely that those companies already have something to say about you. And then we have to remember stuff like social networks on the web that are rising to popularity. I think it was earlier this year that Google announced a change to their privacy policy. There were some people that were upset to find out that Google had so much personal information about them. But shouldn't they expect that? Any person who has had an extended time on the web can probably tell you that anything that you put up on the Internet will eventually be found at some point. So why are there still people that feel like what they put up about themselves will only be seen by who they want? In my opinion, the problem is in education. While it is evident that in recent years, there has been a push to teach students at an early age about at least how to use a computer, starting with basic typing techniques and whatnot. But by the time High School comes around, unless you go to a technology focused school (do those exist?), education in information technology subjects is reduced to an optional choice. And these optional courses tend to instead focus on 'useful' subjects like word processing, web design, and the likes. While that type of knowledge is very useful, especially with some students who may decide to immediately enter the work force after High School, there seems to be a lack of instruction on teaching kids exactly what their presence on the internet is. Again, I think that this is an important subject that must be taught mandatorily at least at the High School level. Doing this would clear up misunderstandings about what the Internet is, what it isn't, and most importantly teach personal moderation and netiqutte. This type of knowledge would attempt to educate new potential users about keeping degrees of the Internet anonymity, explain to what extent users are anonymous (IP address issues), typical information that is given to third parties upon making a new user account on an arbitrary website, essential information about social networks, teach students how to accurately skim through license agreements from online services and software, inform on copyright benefits and limitations and introduce alternative licensing choices (Creative Commons, Copyleft), and teach netiqutte (introduce terms such as trolls and white knighting and internet bullying). While such a class would be hopeful and useful, it is a valid question to ask whether there would be enough time and resources to teach all these subjects. The class, to be at it's most effective state, be taught in an engaging way, be taught by a teacher that accurately knows the required information (which can be tricky as a lot has changed on the web in even the last 10 years), but above all else have students which are eager to learn (which is harder to come across in a typical public school). All in all, it would be nice to see school start in a shift towards such education. Of course, schools would be reluctant to even introduce new mandatory courses on top of required subjects that are the basis for standardized testing, but that is a different issue. The important thing to focus on at this stage is to inform the public why it is important to teach this matereial at an early age. We live in a time where if you're not careful about what we say, it will most probably come back and bite us in the rear. This is the advent of a new age for technology and information services. If the main players for the start of this next generation are not accurately informed, who knows what we will see out of the next generation of people who are misinformed or not educated in these subjects? END (DIR) Degrees of Anonymity