Privacy no longer so important

Privacy?  We Got Over It.

Amazon closely records our taste in books, Gmail scans our emails to deliver relevant ads, and electronic tolls track where we drive. Profiles on MySpace and Facebook are accessible, forever. The disclosure that Judge Bork liked to rent British comedies seems quaint in comparison.

Records about us are no longer kept in scattered manila files in dusty cabinets, but digitally, which means in permanent records that can be combined with other records to paint a full picture of our tastes and habits. Information held by different retailers, insurers and government agencies can be mined to create constantly updated files more complete than the most tenacious intelligence report on a suspected criminal a generation ago.

Privacy advocates do their jobs by reminding us of these risks, but our choices all seem to be in the direction of trading away privacy. The fantastic power and convenience of digital life has led us to change what we consider private in ways that we can only begin to understand.
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Privacy remains a virtue, or at least we still say it does. But the balance has been tipped by other values, such as transparency, a free flow of information and physical security. We're in the early stages of adapting to more digital and visible lives, with privacy expectations better defined by what we do than by what we say.

Plan your funeral online

Mywonderfullife.com allows you to plan your funeral online.

Rhea says I Planned My Funeral and It Was Fun

I just had such a fun time this afternoon. I began planning my funeral. It feels odd to plan your funeral. Most people can’t stand the idea of dying. But MyWonderfulLife.com is a comprehensive funeral-planning site that’s free and extremely easy to use. So, why not? Once you open your free account, you can choose burial or cremation, fancy casket or not fancy, visitation or not, what kind of music will play, etc., etc. Mostly I said I want it to be party-like. No black clothes, only bright colors. I can’t wait!

Cancer blogs become part of the treatment

Cancer blogs become part of the treatment

Boyd is one of a growing number of cancer patients turning to the Internet to discuss their disease, keeping friends and family updated, and connecting with other patients, according to oncology social workers and psychologists. Personal blogs, listservs, and sites like CarePages, CaringBridge, and Breast Cancer Stories give patients an outlet to express the emotional turmoil associat ed with the disease, enabling a virtual catharsis for some.

More on Tributes.com

How Jeff Taylor, the whiz behind Monster.com hopes to bring the newspaper obituary back to life in an interview published in the Boston Globe Sunday magazine, To Die For

You recently launched your latest venture, Tributes.com, a site that allows individuals to post obituaries online. It's pretty depressing, don't you think? I mean, why base a whole business around dead people?

You know what? I think it's exactly the opposite. I have this fascination with having a storied life. I had a relationship with a grandfather, but I wasn't old enough to appreciate it and I find I have nothing to look at to be able to enjoy that story.

If you were my father, I would appreciate you sitting me down and showing me pictures. Isn't it a little weird for your kids to go on the Internet to see this?

Stuff is in cardboard boxes in people's attics. Your classic obituary or death notice is something cut out and sitting in someone's Bible. I think there is the ability to make connections and build family trees where it's not just a date of birth and date of death. You're cynical about this. Want to share your age?

I'm 37.

It's hard to relate to at 37. It's creepy at 37. But it's intriguing at 47.