Chapter 1. The Quest for Privacy in the Information Age
Anyone with an inkling of the world probably thinks that there is no such thing as privacy anymore. The growth of the Information Age and Internet has brought increased attention to privacy issues. On any given day, you will see at least one news story about privacy, or lack thereof. “You have zero privacy anyway.” The CEO of Sun Microsystems, Scott McNealy, said this. It just about sums up the way the world is heading when it comes to privacy. Are we doomed to be open books for those wishing to know about our lives? There must be some reason that every futuristic movie shows individual privacy as an antiquated concept. Every person's life is encoded in a chip, a card, or a thumbprint that gives a semi-sentient machine complete access to his life and background. Is this where we are headed as a culture? Is there anything we can do about it? Perhaps. Perhaps not.
The steady progression of technology has had mostly beneficial results on our daily lives. Can you imagine not being able to look up information on the Internet about any subject with a couple clicks of the mouse? Instant access to information and communications is probably one of the greatest benefits of the Internet and all the peripheral technologies it has spawned. Having to perform research using the local library card catalogs and encyclopedias is almost a thing of the past. If you need to find out about a new product or that company you want to invest in, it's a matter of spending a few minutes to find what you need online. (You probably have to wade through some useless items first, but nothing is perfect!) Communication from companies to consumers and consumers to consumers has never been greater. To contact someone, you probably have several ways to track him down if he is wired. First, you try the cell phone, then maybe the pager, and after that, maybe a wireless device such as a Palm or RIM Blackberry device. And let's not forget about the online, instant gratification communication methods: Instant Messenger, ICQ, and so on. Communicating has never been easier. You can track people down with a number of ways that have almost become a virtual leash around our necks. (Sometimes you just don't want to be found!)
The most popular achievement of technology is probably online shopping. It seems trivial, but money makes the world go round—shopping online is just making it go round faster. As demonstrated by the Christmas sales reports each year, there is a steady progression in the number of people making purchases online. Who wants to hassle with crowds and parking when you can stay at home and finish your shopping in a fraction of the time? Internet shopping has made instant gratification an addiction when it comes to shopping. There is no need to visit five stores to find what you need when you can buy it on the Internet and have it delivered the next day to your doorstep. Comparison-shopping can be done for you with such sites as Pricewatch, CNET, and Pricegrabber, to name a few. They do all the work for you, and you pick what best suits your needs. Of course, you are submitting your personal preferences to them when shopping.
Wireless technology is probably the other achievement that will revolutionize how we conduct business and access information. For cell phone users, being without it is tantamount to losing a limb. Wireless shopping will push the adoption of this technology to the consumer market at a faster pace. Wireless will provide easier access to information and communications that will possibly supplant the way we access information today. Usage will increase at an exponential rate over the next several years. Soon you will be able to locate people via their cell phones; there will be no way of hiding from people or missing someone just around the corner.
Table 1.1 lists wireless subscriber (consumer) statistics from International Data Corp.
| 1999 | 2003 | |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. | 560,000 | 73,100,000 |
| Western Europe | 91,000 | 72,000,000 |
| Asia Pacific | 460,000 | 143,400,000 |
| Japan | 3,800,000 | 40,900,000 |
Internet technology, which is more than just use of the Internet over a computer, has invaded our lives and become a necessity. As new products and services become available, consumers have shown that the adoption rate is becoming shorter as consumers become educated and sophisticated in technology usage. Features such as online shopping and wireless access to everything have spurred usage across every segment of society.