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