Category Archives: Privacy

When a Country Goes Dark

Ministers’ homes at the new capital, Pyinmana Burma has shown us that we’re not as clever, or free, as we thought we are. It’s a sign of how the Burmese generals don’t really understand things that it took them so long to cut off the Internet: Reporters without Borders and the Burma Media Association reported… Read More »

Stoop to Congoo?

Is business networking site Congoo resorting to spam to build its user base? I suspect it is. Congoo is on one hand a good idea — a place to gather and monitor content on your industry, including content that is usually subscription only (like WSJ.com, who publish my weekly Loose Wire column.) But it’s also… Read More »

Protect Your Privacy With Twiglets

I really hate being asked for lots of private details just to download a product. In short: People shouldn’t have to register to try something out. An email address, yes, if absolutely necessary. But better not: just let the person decide whether they like it. It’s the online equivalent of a salesperson shadowing you around the shop… Read More »

Old Habits, or New Uses?

Young hospital worker using her cellphone in a phone booth, Jakarta, April 2007 Either she uses the phone booth out of habit from her pre-cellphone days, or else she’s making use of a privacy feature of old technology — the sound-proofing booth — her new technology doesn’t offer. Tags:  indonesia, privacy, cellphones, technology, booths, soundproofing