This question was posed at the e-luxe conference in Paris. What many of us don’t realize is that every time we interact in a digital environment such as: TV, mobile phone, the World Wide Web, and social media, we create a digital footprint (some have dubbed it a digital tattoo). Wikipedia defines it as “the size of a person’s ‘online presence’ measured by the number of individuals with whom they interact.”
When social media came on the scene, many rushed to make and interact with as many friends as possible without discriminating as to whom they were associating with. The theory was: it is free, and perhaps something will come of it, the more, the merrier! Fast forward to 2013, we are all realizing, that we may have given too much information in return for “free”.
In an article written by Jeffrey Lambert, titled, How to Erase Your Digital Footprint,
Mr. Lambert says, “Like stepping in wet concrete, these trails we unwittingly leave behind can be tough to erase. With the rise of identity theft, corporate tracking, and the ability of “Big Brother” to access our private data, it is more important than ever for Internet users to be aware of how past and future data can be erased and controlled more effectively.”
One of the recommendations he gives to understanding your digital footprints are several tools, when added to your computer will monitor what Google gathers in terms of data to allow them to search and target advertising.
“Download the free software offering Google Alarm, created by F.A.T. Labs, which is available for both Firefox and Chrome browsers. This add-on will notify you each time you are sending data to Google. Just make sure you disable the sound option for this. I jumped out of my chair the first time the (very loud) alarm went off, and kept going off almost every time I visited a new site. Unless you have a serious love for air horns or are trying to induce a heart attack don’t forget to do this!”
Go ahead and read this article for additional suggestions for monitoring your privacy. In the end the most expedient and time saving procedure may be paying someone to switching your concrete prints for some cloud light slippers.
Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-
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