privacy?

It has only recently occurred to me what an objective feeling "privacy" is.

In speaking with co-funkytown team members over the last week or so, I realized that we have undergown a monumental shift in how we view our privacy. Who we trust has been replaced with what we trust.

In Korea, as well (this is a guess) as in other places of the world, people have become less likely to talk to others in their community. What used to be both tradition and necessity—neighbors had to interact for agricultural and gastronomical reasons—is now vanishing from our physical world, and being replaced by a virtual world accessible by anybody with a tiny machine.

Over the past few weeks, there has been discussions around the perceived "privacy" of social networking giant Facebook. It seems that some facebookers are upset over their photos being shared, potential employers checking their profile, or their own "friends" initating a chat. "Really" I ask, "what the hell were you expecting?" How can you think about privacy after you voluntarily submit an entire life worth of information to a random server in some temperature-controlled room? Is it because Facebook is such a big and well-respected organization? How counter-intuitive is that?

Its not just social networking either. Its everything from shopping online to registering for a Tesco membership. We see those little checkmark icons that supposedly mean our info is safe and proceed onward.

At the same time, we (as a collective) have become isolated from one-another. Most walk around with iPod headphones on, not having to talk to anybody, until they are at their destination where they know the people around them, thus making it okay for interaction to occur. In a better metaphor, we have moved from the front porch to the back patio.

Of course, the scenarios above do not apply to everybody; nor am I not suggesting that we stop and say hi to every person we pass on the street (although you can try it). It just seems that our sense of community and privacy has been redirected to an array of machines (from the computer to industrial food) that have somehow gained our trust. We cheer the creation of "online communities" but don't bat an eyelash at the destruction of our actual communities. Seems backwards.

---

A good thing about this life: the scenario of listening to a song you have heard before, but enjoying it on a higher level. Is there a name for this phenomenon? Regardless, this happened to me today with Modern Romance by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs (the video doesn't include the whole song, but the album is available at your local music retailer).

---

I used a semi-colon above in memory of Kurt Vonnegut.

---

Random thought: why have we let the polaroid camera die?