Comments
afwriter
9/2/2016 3:13:14 PM
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"Infobesity"
I LOVE this term, I am trying to trim down myself as I try to find a good work/life balance.
dcawrey
9/3/2016 1:03:04 PM
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Re: "Infobesity"
We are being fed a steady diet of information. Some of it is crap, but some of it is valuable.
This all depends on what you're digesting. I use information to make decisions when it comes to work. That's useful for me, and I recognize all the crap out there.
batye
9/5/2016 12:46:06 AM
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Re: "Infobesity"
@dcawrey yes, sometimes it feels like information overload...
Ariella
9/6/2016 12:22:17 PM
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Re: "Infobesity"
@dcawrey If you can filter it out, that's great. So much of what its truly worthless, though, masquerades as valuable insight and often is published on major media brand names.
DHagar
9/6/2016 4:43:34 PM
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Re: "Infobesity"
@dcawrey, maybe that's what the c) stood for in the State Dept./Clinton emails?
Great points!
dcawrey
9/7/2016 9:46:47 AM
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Re: "Infobesity"
Oh yeah, the c) totally stood for crap.
Now back to getting my Vitamin C on the internets.
DHagar
9/7/2016 2:35:42 PM
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Re: "Infobesity"
@dcawrey, good one!
Ariella
9/7/2016 2:20:49 PM
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Re: "Infobesity"
LOL @DHagar way too much c of that sort around.
DHagar
9/7/2016 2:39:00 PM
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Re: "Infobesity"
@Ariella, very true. This whole point of Infobesity is right on target. Maybe there should be variable rates for the quality and usefulness of info.
Ariella
9/7/2016 2:41:16 PM
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Re: "Infobesity"
@Dhagar interesting idea, though I wouldn't want to just let Google or Facebook style algorithms decide which content is more worth seeing. Perhaps it would have to be personalized to individual tastes like Netflix or Amazon recommendations.
mhhf1ve
9/7/2016 2:46:15 PM
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Re: "Infobesity"
> "Netflix or Amazon recommendations..."
Hm. The ideal of really good Netflix recommendations hasn't really become a reality. Even after Netflix's $1MM challenge, they never implemented the winning recommendation algorithm.. and the whole idea of desirable personalized recommendations seems to have faded away? Perhaps privacy concerns for recommendations being too good get in the way....
Ariella
9/7/2016 2:51:01 PM
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Re: "Infobesity"
@mhhf1ve perhaps, while some people are delighted at personalization, some people find it a tad creepy to consider how much they are being tracked to come up with such results.
mhhf1ve
9/8/2016 1:15:34 PM
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Re: "Infobesity"
The "1984" world of constant surveillance is pretty much a reality now with all the cameras and GPS sensors that can track everyone's movements. If all the data collected is just going toward netflix recommendations, that wouldn't be a problem... but...
Ariella
9/8/2016 1:23:14 PM
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Re: "Infobesity"
@mhhf1ve the interesting thing is that passing on that info to marketers can actually violate law in the EU where data privacy rights are considered a lot more important than they see to be on this side of the Atlantic. That gets tricky when you have businesses sending data from one side to the other. Previously Safe Harbour was supposed to reassure people that their privacy rights were protected, but a suit against Facebook in Ireland blew that out of the water. Now we have the Privacy Shield as the mechanism to be used to show legal compliance. But only time will tell if it will hold up.
mhhf1ve
9/8/2016 2:14:42 PM
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Re: "Infobesity"
I'm wondering how Differential Privacy tech will circumvent the privacy concerns with massive data collection and data mining efforts. Netflix's second $1MM challenge was a bust in part because it was too easy to de-anonymize the data. Will introducing random noise into personal data collection efforts really be enough to satisfy privacy rights concerns? It's not clear yet, and it may never be....
Ariella
9/8/2016 2:19:27 PM
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Re: "Infobesity"
<Will introducing random noise into personal data collection efforts really be enough to satisfy privacy rights concerns? > @mhhf1ve good question. I think it may not suffice for EU standards, though. At the very least, the people living under its protection would have the right to object to their data being used in that way. That's what I infer from the way the rights are laid out here: http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/policies/data-protection-reform/data-protection-regulation/
It lists the rights of the data subject, that is the individual whose personal data is being processed. These strengthened rights give individuals more control over their personal data, including through:
- the need for the individual's clear consent to the processing of personal data
- easier access by the subject to his or her personal data
- the rights to rectification, to erasure and 'to be forgotten'
- the right to object, including to the use of personal data for the purposes of 'profiling'
- the right to data portability from one service provider to another
It also lays down the obligation for controllers (those who are responsible for the processing of data) to provide transparent and easily accessible information to data subjects on the processing of their data.
mhhf1ve
9/8/2016 7:52:41 PM
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Re: "Infobesity"
Interesting link.. I'm not sure that really answers the concern, but I'm sure there will be lawsuits in the future that will!
I suppose companies will argue that anonymized data isn't subject to privacy laws because.. the data is anonymized... and individuals may need to prove some kind of injury that isn't hypothetical but tangible.
Apple has deep pockets, so I'm sure someone will go after them....
batye
9/9/2016 12:58:47 AM
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Re: "Infobesity"
@mhhf1ve interesting point, I would love to hear @Joe opinion on this :)
mhhf1ve
9/9/2016 11:02:46 AM
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Re: "Infobesity"
ah, yes, @joe - our resident lawyer and master cartoon captioner. Data privacy is going to be a big legal issue (actually it already is), and different cultural stances on how to handle privacy may make datacenter and network planning a bit tricky. And the privacy policies of Asia and Africa haven't solidified yet...
Re: "Infobesity"
@mhh: The African market hasn't matured quite enough yet. Asia is still developing; off the top of my head, you could probably count on your hands the number of Asian nations with data-privacy laws (at most, you'd have to take off a shoe).
Meanwhile, in the US, expect more and more agencies looking to get more and more involved in adding regulations and laws on top of regulations and laws for added redundancy so as to increase their power. Best case in point: The FTC. (link) (another link)
mpouraryan
9/11/2016 11:28:00 PM
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Re: "Infobesity"
The only thing I would note for all is this: "Cavaet Emptor" (Buyer be aware). As we're dealing with the wild wild west, the only way we can stay ahead of the curve to is to maximize the privacy settings by the majors while just being vigilant. How effective this is itself an open question.
freehe
9/29/2016 10:04:42 AM
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Infobesity
"infobesity." The cure for infobesity is using digital tools correctly, which includes taking breaks by setting down or walking away from those devices.
This is a huge problem. Viewers are viewing content but the content does not benefit the viewer in any way, it is just for entertainment. Doing the same thing over and over again without challenging the brain is the quickest way to develop alzheimer's later in life.
Mind numbing viewing is a real problem especially among those 16-35.
Infobesity has several disadvantages:
- Decreases vision and perception
- Reduces the ability to focus on other content
- Results in dry eyes
- Decrease human interaction and socializing
- Develops people who lack social skills
and many more consequences.
mpouraryan
9/29/2016 10:17:11 AM
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Re: Infobesity
What you've underscored is what I have been noting all along throughout the discourse this month--we have to be human. Part of being human is to challenge ourselves--and to your point, if we take care of the brain, it will take care of itself in the end.
Onward to the 4th quarter w/all its' pitfalls & possibilities
Re: "Infobesity"
@mhh: I'm not so sure about the idea of introducing random noise (do you have a link or other source on how this is being done?), but in general, studies have repeatedly shown that anonymized data can be readily de-anonymized.
Of course, where the liability and culpability is concerned, generally "reasonable efforts" and "custom" are at play where statutes and regulations are silent and/or leave room for ambiguity. At least, in the US. The EU and other extra-US jurisdictions are completely different animals.
(Disclaimer: Not legal advice. I am not to be trusted.)
mpouraryan
9/11/2016 11:29:23 PM
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Re: "Infobesity"
@Joe: One thing I hope you concur is the fact that it is in the end up to the end user to be aware and not take anything for granted. Not easy--is it?
Re: "Infobesity"
@mp: That's a matter of both corporate practices and cultural attitudes.
In the EU, the prevailing attitude is a highly paternalistic and protective one. At least one German state has outright "banned" Facebook's Like button widget -- and urged its denizens to keep from clicking on webpage Like buttons.
mhhf1ve
9/16/2016 1:11:46 PM
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Re: "Infobesity"
> "At least one German state has outright "banned" Facebook's Like button widget -- and urged its denizens to keep from clicking on webpage Like buttons."
The different policies and cultures for handling privacy (among other things) varies wildly around the world... and it actually reminds me that I've never figured out how the Facebook "like" icon is displayed globally. Because in some countries, isn't the "thumbs up" signal a bit offensive? I assume Facebook must use some other icon in "West Africa, Iran, and Greece"..?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thumbs_signal
Re: "Infobesity"
@mhh: I did not know that. In the case of Germany, though, it's strictly a privacy thing -- and how clicking the Like button automatically passes along personal information.
mhhf1ve
9/16/2016 12:53:37 PM
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Re: "Infobesity"
> "@mhh: I'm not so sure about the idea of introducing random noise (do you have a link or other source on how this is being done?)..."
There's a subset of the field of cryptography that studies how to maximize statistically relevant information while minimizing the chances of identifying the individual records in a collected database. Academic surveys asking interviewees about very sensitive/personal topics (or about illegal activities, where the participants wouldn't want to admit to committing a crime) have used a fairly simple "flip a coin before answering the question" process (described here: https://research.googleblog.com/2014/10/learning-statistics-with-privacy-aided.html -- a couple years ago). More recently, companies like Apple are trying to come up with more advanced ways to store personal data without compromising people's privacy. I'm not a mathematician, but it seems like it boils down to making the de-anonymizing process more uncertain, so that you can only say with some (low) probability whether or not the individual records you're trying to uncover are accurate.
Obviously, though, in reality, there may be other datasets that aren't governed by these cryptography efforts that could completely wipe out the effectiveness (if it truly even exists). That is, Apple could be encrypting people's data, so that the odds are low that any of its collected info can be directly tied to particular users, but then a user's wireless carrier might just collect all the metadata for every action a user takes and allow anyone to pinpoint an individual's activity and personal info, regardless of how much random noise is injected to try to throw off prying eyes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Differential_privacy
Re: "Infobesity"
@mhh: Ditto, too, for when you have only one or two datasets related to a particular individual -- but you have the same one or two datasets for every other individual as well.
Case in point: The Adobe breach, where people's hashed passwords and plaintext password hints were compromised -- allowing for deconstruction and transposition.
mhhf1ve
9/29/2016 3:01:08 PM
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Re: "Infobesity"
Joe, I think there's been an underwhelming amount of coverage of the Yahoo breach details... did the breach include plaintext passwords? how much info has been compromised? Yahoo hasn't even contacted its users about the details... and only recently reached out to users to change their passwords....
Re: "Infobesity"
Netflix seems to have changed their business model some time ago from making recommendations based upon what it genuinely thinks the viewer would enjoy to making recommendations based upon what it wants the viewer to consume (esp. Netflix-original content) -- and instead using the data on what people like in helping it develop its own original content. (For instance, true story: Netflix's House of Cards series was developed because a lot of people liked the original British House of Cards miniseries and a lot of people liked Kevin Spacey movies.)
mpouraryan
9/11/2016 11:26:16 PM
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Re: "Infobesity"
As someone who did a "test run" on netflix, I was not frankly too impressed--I know I am the very rare exception to the rule--and what you've noted is what Amazon is doing as well which I find to be a lot more prevalent. Netflix also has a long-term challenge before it that Amazon does not have--it is pretty much a "one product" company--isn't it?
Re: "Infobesity"
@mp: Additionally, Netflix relies upon a vendor's cloud (Amazon's, actually), whereas Amazon has its own.
mpouraryan
9/13/2016 3:03:05 PM
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Re: "Infobesity"
That may well be the true "value add"--amazing how the symbiotic relationship somehow transcends. And oh, on a side note, Mr. Bezos has a new rocket!!
:)
vnewman
9/13/2016 4:02:43 PM
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Re: "Infobesity"
I think the problem with that model is people tend to binge watch an entire series over a few days then a few things happen: they get sick of it, lose interest by the time the installment comes around, or just plain forget about it.
At least with broadcast TV you get your weekly fix for awhile and then it becomes a habit - and we all know habits are hard to break.
DHagar
9/7/2016 3:36:22 PM
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Re: "Infobesity"
@Ariella, I like it - that would have a more intelligent structure.
batye
9/5/2016 5:06:06 PM
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Re: "Infobesity"
@afwriter to finf good work/life balance in not always easy as everything affecting us... each day...
clrmoney
9/3/2016 10:48:24 AM
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Orange Cure
This can ge great for us if orange can make it easier for us using the right available tools when we are online etc.
batye
9/5/2016 5:07:00 PM
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Re: Orange Cure
@clrmoney as long as they do it right and proper...
mhhf1ve
9/6/2016 4:13:55 PM
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Any worse than being a couch potato..?
I wonder how infobesity compares to the couch potato syndrome? It used to be that sitting on a couch with a TV remote was rotting your brain, but now at least there's Pokemon Go to get kids out of the house?
Broadcast TV wasn't terribly engaging, either. So I hope someone does a study to try to compare how apps and smartphones' engagement factor might make a difference -- relative to sitting in front of a TV for 3+hrs/day.
DHagar
9/6/2016 4:40:02 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Any worse than being a couch potato..?
@mhhf1ve, good thinking about the physical costs of infobesity, as well as the mental.
Great article, Mike. If we just overconsume anything, without delivering value, it will just overwhelm the mental and physical well being of anyone. The question is, what is the value and how are we improving our profitability, quality of lives, society, and personal well being?
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