Prototype of a Person

Scaremongering at the Symposium?

As part of the Darklight Festival over the weekend a number of symposiums were held to discuss and debate various popular topics related to the online world. I was invited to be a member of the audience by the organisers and found the experience to be rather… interesting.

Privacy vs. Publicity in the Virtual World

Daniel Solove, author of “The Future of Reputation: Gossip, Rumor and Privacy on the Internet” (available for free here) opened this discussion with various anecdotes pertaining to the negative effects of personal details being shared online, either on purpose i.e. through your personal blog, or without the person’s consent e.g. the Star Wars Kid. Coming from a background in law, Solove suggests that the only way to curtail personal details being posted online without your consent is by the threat of legal action being more heavily employed.

“Be responsible”

Solove suggests that allowing anonymity online is irresponsible as it removes any control we have over our personal data (e.g. intimate personal details being posted online without consent) and that the law can only do so much to provide protection. For example, while it may be possible for a photographer to have an unapproved photo removed from an unlicensed website, the individual in the photo has no legal standing. This is because copyright law is much more powerful than privacy law.

“Intertwined with the lives of others”

Solove described how we all have expectations of privacy and anonymity in public, despite always being exposed and how this notion of privacy is mistakenly expected online. Claiming that 50% of bloggers were under the age of 19, he described these Internet users as “Generation Google” – individuals that have had their lives chronicled online, leaving behind fragments of their past that are pervasive and destructive to their future.

Opinion

I disagree with Solove’s judgment that anonymity is irresponsible on the part of ISP’s and websites that encourage and allow it. Anonymity online has always provided Internet users with a constructive means for liberal expression and play, without the risk of social impairment. Though anonymity provides users the facility to post lies online without any apparent risk (except in a serious case where your IP address might be used against you), the power of an anonymous message is certainly not as strong as a message coming from a reputable source.

“Generation Google” is something that I myself am a part of, but it is a heavily constructed and thought out self, which is something anyone reading a blog or a social networking profile needs to consider. Using google search results as a basis for a decision on a job or college applicant is something that I would consider irresponsible, and lazy. Nothing we post online is a 100% true reflection of ourselves, imagine a youthful, boastful comment left on a friend’s social networking profile that might actually be sarcastic or part of an in-joke. It’s all about context, and if the context is unknown then the information is invalid. It is lazy to think otherwise.

Panel Discussion

Following this keynote address was a panel discussion chaired by Caroline Campbell, featuring Jim Carroll, Cormac Callanan, Niall Larkin (read his thoughts on this symposium here) and Damien “almost blogs for a living” Mulley. Daithí Mac Sithigh was also in the audience and has written up a great summary of the panel discussion.

“Whatever goes on the Internet stays on the Internet”

The most prevalent message from this one-sided discussion was that everything you do online is being used to build behavioural profiles for marketing and advertising. On Facebook (and probably other social networking websites) your actions are logged and combined with your profile information for contextual marketing and advertising. Sophisticated data mining tools are used in Gmail and other free online services. Law enforcement in the US use these data mining techniques to track down possible terrorists and it was suggested that all of these combined could lead to surveillance and stalking by commercial and non-commercial companies for negative reasons, debt-collection is an example used by a member of the audience.

Privacy in this instance is not about the actual collection of the data, it’s what happens to it afterwards. Suggestions were made that it would be preferable to have access to this profile and to be notified when your data is being accessed and by whom. However, when Mulley asked the audience “Who actually cares?” a minority raised their hands.

Opinion

In my opinion, many of the members of the panel seemed to be scaremongering the audience. It would have been a more interesting discussion if even one of the members of the panel was under 30 (correct me if I’m wrong). All of them seemed quite outraged by the idea that their personal details and behaviour online could be used to help companies make more money. I would argue that there are many positive things about this type of data mining, for example, attempts (unsuccessful so far) at contextualising advertising on websites such as Facebook.

Contextual ads make advertisements entertaining and informative. Personally, I’d rather this than being bombarded with irrelevant ads (like when I watch television). However, this does not mean that the advertising is more successful because of this. Despite the fear of behavioural profiles being sold to marketing and advertising executives, these sets of data are in no way accurate at predicting human behaviour. Behaviour changes on a daily basis and can’t be actualised using selective pieces of information we ourselves post into the likes of social networking websites. Our reactions to advertising and products can change based on far too many variables for a behavioural profile to predict.

Websites like Facebook and Google give us a service and our payment to them is our content. Without our content these websites are completely useless and no-one would be willing to pay for them. It’s naive for anyone to think that you can get something for nothing online and if you’ve nothing to hide, why be so afraid of a little data mining? How does this even affect your every day life? I would argue that it doesn’t. It’s a pity the panel were so strongly of the opinion that it was 100% negative. I do however agree that users signing up to these services might need to be informed more readily of the fact that their data might be used in this manner.

The question is - Do you care? (Take a second to Take the poll or leave a comment below).

3 Ireland: Homophobic?

Damien points out today that a number of Irish gay discussion sites are blocked by 3 Ireland when you try to access them via 3G on one of their handsets. Curiously enough their argument for doing so is because these websites are deemed unsuitable for children. However, as noted back in 2007, when 3 took down it’s “walled garden” to allow full Internet access from your handset they introduced a policy of only allowing Internet access if you registered with them and if you were over 18. So there is no need for this at all because children can’t access Internet from their handsets full stop.

Also, another point - you can infact access plenty of “unsuitable” content from your 3 handset. It’s simple really, turning off the “safe search” in google image search will bring up all the pornography you could want on your tiny 2inch screen.

3 Ireland need to remove this ban immediately or face a massive backlash from not just the gay community, but from the blogging community too.

Getting the most from Google Reader

For the past month I’ve been using Google Reader on a daily basis. Not only have I discovered a wealth of information from the 100’s of blogs I’ve subscribed too, I’ve also discovered some wonderful functionality - some of which you can find on the sidebar of this blog.

Thanks to Elly I learned how to display an accurate selection of my currently subscribed to blogs. This is usually reserved for the Wordpress links feature and came under the Blogroll heading. The difference being, my blogroll was never 100% up to date - it’s an easy thing to forget between posting new articles and tweaking the occasional feature or blog design. Today if I want to add a blog to my Blogroll I simply drag and drop it into the folders that I’ve created in Google Reader and it immediately appears on my own blog.

I went through a phase of using Digg, to social bookmark - to display a list of articles that I had read, that I found interesting and wanted to share. Google Reader has a similar feature built-in, though it doesn’t tell you how many other people have also marked an article as sharing-worthy, this might be something they will add once it has come out of beta. The last 5 articles I have marked interesting also now appear in the sidebar and the full list can be viewed here, you can even subscribe to this as it has it’s own RSS feed. If anyone else has one of these going, let me know. Sharing IS caring after all.

As I do most of my blog reading from work, I often don’t have the time to read everything, especially the longer articles. Obviously I’m not going to want to add it to my shared items if I haven’t read it, for this I can add a little star and view these starred articles on their own at a later date. This is especially practical if I find something related to my studies but don’t have the time to completely process the information. This is also great if someone posts a video or mp3 you want to watch/listen to when you’re in the comfort of your own computer.

Right now I’m loving/hating…

Loving that Dublin has gone all lesbian-music-scene this week with Tegan and Sara playing in my new favourite venue the Button Factory (though it was my favourite as the TBMC too - go figure!) tomorrow night and Uh Huh Her playing the Village on Sunday. Hating that I’m 100% sure that I’ll have a hangover for the later, and that’s mostly because of this.

Loving Anton Yelchin’s portrayal of a modern day Ferris Bueller in the new movie Charlie Bartlett (can’t wait to see him in the new Star Trek movie). Hating that the trailer gives away the entire storyline.

Loving how Google Reader puts less strain on my eyes, by allowing me to read all my blogs in a lovely gmail formatting style (which this video is definitely paying homage to). Hating that it took me so long to figure out that rss readers were a good thing.

Loving debut irish albums “Carry the Meek” by the one and only Ham Sambo and “Forget Romance, Let’s Dance” by my new favourites (old favourites of Jens!) We Should Be Dead. Hating that I’ve yet to see WSBD live, this will hopefully be rectified at Ladyflash a.s.a.p!

Google Maps Mobile

Thanks to Noel, today I’ve mostly been abusing my data package to access the Internet using installed applications such as Google Maps Mobile (go to this site on your mobile to directly download the app).

Recently Google Local Business Center became open to Irish businesses. There hasn’t been a big uptake so far (I suppose it’s early days) - if my experience of searching random keywords in Google Maps is anything to go by. The maps application on my mobile currently doesn’t seem to support searching for local businesses or “my location” or “highway traffic” (these might be network dependent, I’ll have to get someone to try it out on Vodafone), which is a pity but I’m still planning on making my absolutely-no-sense-of-direction other half install this app. onto her N70.

Even on a small screen Google Maps looks and feels great and is very easy to use. I was surprised that you could use “satellite view” (similar to Google Earth, where you see satellite images rather than a simple map). A really nifty little feature in “directions” is that you can use shortcut buttons to jump from point to point on the route. Overall I’m impressed and looking forward to being able to (hopefully soon) access the local business search, you never know when you’re going to need to know where the nearest pub is.

Quick Update

It’s been quite some time since I’ve posted anything, been very busy and nothing new in the world of gadgets/technology has taken my interest, expect perhaps Blackle. Been busy changing jobs - I’m now working in Admin/ICT for the Health Service Executive in their mental health section. It’s Monday to Friday, 9 to 5, or flexi-time if I need to come in late, or go home early - which suits me perfectly, especially so for college in October.

I’ve my interview for the M.Sc. in Cyberpsychology at the beginning of September, I’m feeling confident about it, I can’t see how they’d refuse me. I’m putting all my eggs in one basket - I know this - but I honestly couldn’t find a Masters program that suited me the way this one does, so even if I don’t get in, I’d rather that than do a course I wasn’t excited about.

Update: Induction is on the 22nd. I start formal lectures on the 29th. Goodbye Saturdays. Hello education.

Thank you for your interest in Google…

I handed in my two weeks notice on Monday, not because I got the job in Google, but because I accepted an offer to work for 3 Ireland in their new Henry Street store. Monday was a hectic day, I had to decide whether to take the job with Three or hold out for Google. In the end, I was right to accept the position in Three.

Google were supposed to get back to me on Monday and even after leaving a voicemail message, they didn’t actually get back to me until Tuesday evening. I received a really impersonal rejection e-mail from them, a real copy and paste job, telling me that based on my “qualifications” and “experience” that they didn’t think me a “strong match”. My instant thought after reading this was “did they not have my cv?”. I’ve politely asked them to provide me with additional feedback on why they think me not suited to the position, and am still waiting to receive it.

The Google recruitment process was very thorough, after an assessment test, 3 phone interviews and 2 face-to-face interviews all I received from them was an e-mail to tell me that I didn’t get the job, and that was 3 weeks after the face-to-face interviews. From start to finish, the whole process of them figuring out I wasn’t suitable for the position took over 2 months. It stressed me out, it pissed me off, it excited me, and more than anything else it got my hopes up far too much. I really thought this was the perfect job for me, but I think I was too eager and too… maybe desperate to work them. I probably should have shut my mouth about how great I think their company is and how I would have liked to be able to participate in their research projects, some time in the future. Perhaps they thought me too enthusiastic? In the end, I don’t think I’ll be applying to work for them again; it’s not worth the stress and the extreme effort… I still can’t believe they had to interview me 5 times to figure out they didn’t want to hire me, it was so terribly unnecessary.

Anyway, I’m not going to beat myself up about it, considering that I have a brand new opportunity, to make lots of commission working for the Three network. I don’t know how long I’ll stay working for them, but I need to start making more money, what with Christmas just around the corner. In the New Year I’ll have to start visiting recruitment agencies in hopes to get a “real” job – despite my CV being available on every Irish recruitment website possible I seem to only be getting offers for sales positions. Shall I be doomed to work in retail, forever, regardless of my college education? If I can’t get a job with my degree, is there even any point in even doing a masters next year, is there any point in doing it ever?

The Google Saga Continues

I’ve wrote about it, ranted about it and I’ve talked about wanting to work for Google all throughout college. I wrote my thesis on online advertising because I’ve a passion for usability and hoped very much that this passion would land me a job with an exciting company such as Google.

Today, I finally have an opportunity to sell myself to them as I have my face-to-face interview at their Dublin office in Grand Canal Quay. I’m not as nervous as I thought I would be, I’m more excited than anything else. All those phone interviews have really prepared me, and in retrospect I’ve very thankful for them. So, I’m sitting in work contemplating it all, I’m off at 1pm as the interview is at 2pm. I’m wearing my pinstripe suit and I’m going to take out all of my piercings. I’ll be meeting with two of the AdSense team leaders - senior employees of Google. I’m hoping this will be the last of the interviews, as I think my brain will explode if I have to have another one.

It’s not like I’m putting my eggs all in one basket though - as a fail-safe I had a phone interview with Three on Thursday, and I have a face-to-face interview with them on Friday. It would be a really similar position to the one I already have, but with extra benefits and higher wages. It would be a nice new start, the kind of job I’d take just to get me out of here (I’m bored to tears with this place) and I’d keep saving my money for my masters next year.

I keep telling myself that even if I don’t secure the position with Google, at least it’s boosted my self-esteem and given me something to talk/rant/blog about for the last few months.

Trying To Move Forward

In my previous post, I mentioned that Google had yet to contact me and that I was considering being more aggressive in my attempt to secure a position. Perhaps I was being over-dramatic about my tactics, as all I did was e-mail them a revised copy of my CV. Within minutes of e-mailing them, however, I received a phone call to set up a second phone interview. I had this interview with a member of the Dublin based Adsense team on the 31st of August and I also had a third interview with another member of the team last Wednesday, the 6th of September.

These two interviews were rather different from the first one, as I was speaking directly to Adsense employees, and both seemed considerably more interested in my previous work experience, personality and education. It was actually really interesting to speak to them, both were very well educated and quite nerdy (in that good way, that I just love) - at certain points throughout each interview I found myself feeling like I was just chatting to them, rather than being interviewed, I really enjoyed speaking to people “on the inside”. With each interview I am becoming more confident, and I am becoming more prepared for the face-to-face interview(s) I am hoping to secure. As usual, as soon as I’ve more information about all this, it will be posted here.

As the Google recruitment process is so thorough (long), I have stopped actively searching for work elsewhere, but it has been pointed out to me (by many a friend) that I should probably not put all my eggs in one basket. This is difficult, as I am so certain that this job will fit me so perfectly. I’ve even been speaking excitedly about moving out, and finally getting my own place, more than likely in Dublin City Centre. Right now, the little day-dreams I have in my mind are of moving into Dublin, working in Google and spending each weekend happily lazing around with my partner. The urge to move out is increasing everyday, as the commute (on public transport unfortunately) into Dublin, to work, is getting longer and harder due to extensive road works. Speaking of work, actually, I got a nice little bonus of a weekend away in Ireland (to the value of €300) from Eircom for being a top-seller of Broadband throughout the summer months. It’s always nice to get a pat on the back.

Google do or Google don’t

In my entry dated the 4th of August I mentioned that I had just completed an online assessment for Google, I received a phone call from them on the 14th of August to tell me that I had passed and that they wanted to interview me… over the phone. I had the interview two days later.

The interviewer asked me plenty of basic questions, and a good few of those awkward ones like “Give me an example of a time in your workplace where you worked in a team.” They asked me about my thesis and college course, which I was delighted to talk about. We spoke for almost 30minutes, which I can only assume is a good thing.

But I was nervous as hell. I’ve never had a phone interview before and it was difficult to get into the right frame of mind, usually when you’re going for a job interview there are numerous steps you take before meeting the interviewer. Your journey there, finding the building, waiting for the interviewer - plenty of time that your mind is forced to concentrate on the task at hand. My mind wasn’t focused enough.

I’m not feeling very positive about how it went, especially since they told me they would get back to me in 2 to 3 days, tomorrow it will have been a week ago. When they do get back in contact with me it will be to tell me if I can progress to the next stage - a second phone interview and then, finally, a face-to-face interview. Google are s-l-o-w in their recruitment process. It’s worth the wait because the job sounds really interesting, the money is also considerably more than the basic I’m on at the moment, and, of course, it’s GOOGLE.