So today there has been a lot of noise and coverage around a website called PleaseRobMe, an ‘interesting’ little piece
I'm free.....don't forget to lock your doors if you Tweet about your whereabouts....
of work that was apparently whacked together by some Dutch developers in four hours (I wonder if they get some work on the back of the PR around this? Perhaps we can rob them when they go for the plethora of job interviews they will receive?!).
One of the Dutch chaps, a Mr van Amstel (were his co-authors van Heineken and van Orangeboom I can’t help but wonder) said that the site was not designed to be a tool for burglary, but rather an intellectual exercise. “The point we’re getting at is that not long ago it was questionable to share your full name on the internet. We’ve gone past that point by 1,000 miles,” said the splendidly named one.
So I guess the question is: where does everyone stand on this? It is indeed a juicy little topic of conversation – are we giving away too much of ourselves to the likes of Google? Are we tricked into doing so? Can this information be used against us (not perhaps in quite such an extreme example as the PleaseRobMe one)? Are we now becoming true ‘digital citizens’ and if so, whose laws do we follow and what are our rights? If, for instance, I was robbed and managed to prove that PleaseRobMe was how the burglar found out I was not at home, could I take them to court? I have no idea what the law in Holland is to cover such a thing…
It’s a massive topic and it’s always interesting when a trivial example such as this news story begins to raise these questions.
Anyway, I have set up a counter site, it’s called ‘GrantIsHome’ and basically sends automated Twitter and Facebook updates every ten minutes, based on a library of statements such as “just settling in to watch my TV”, “just been to my fridge in my house to get an Amstel”, “nice view from the window in my house today”, etc. That should confuse those pesky burglars!
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