Privacy in the digital age may be on the endangered species list.  Our cities are overflowing with cameras.  Red-light, traffic and speed cameras are now common place.  The amount of surveillance cameras that adorn any city street would make George Orwell blush.  Add to this the proliferation of citizen owned digital cameras and mobile phones, we are constantly being watched.  We even have cameras watching cameras to ensure they are not vandalised.

What are the implications on our personal freedoms.  While we may have laughed at the Truman Show and Ed TV the reality is our lives are currently being captured at an increasing rate.  Google now stores every site we visit, we publish our lives, on myspace, youtube, flickr and facebook, we are now part of the network and it is part of us.

Our data shadow stays with us long after we have moved onto something else, there is nowhere to hide.  This fact of modern day life means we have to be vigilant on who we trust with our secrets and personal data.  The benefit of a peer network is the ability to view others preferences and tastes and compare them to your own.  The more we share the better recommendations we receive, but this can have a down side.  Today’s cyber criminals can use this information against us and our Identity can be manipulated, abused and stolen, by what we post in our community profiles.

Governments and employers alike are increasingly using social media sites as background checks, so be careful when you wear that lampshade at the  office Xmas party!

Be vigilant, you never know who is watching and listening and keep your camera phone at the ready