Good article in the LA Times business section today – Online, your life is searchable. It’s good to see this issue getting a larger exposure. From the article:

Online information about consumers comes from several sources. Public records such as campaign contributions, property sales and court cases are increasingly posted on the Internet. At the same time, marketers are collecting information about consumers’ Web browsing and buying habits. And then there are the thousands of online communities such as Facebook and Twitter, where users supply the personal information themselves.

I’ve recently returned from a long hiatus from the ‘net. Working in the IT industry and being an all-around computer geek my entire life, a prolonged absence from modern technology (especially the Internet) was a strange experience. Since I’ve always been a strong believer in personal privacy, and in how this privacy can be enjoyed and protected online, my absence presented me with a unique opportunity to view privacy and anonymity on today’s Internet and compare it to that of three years ago. Read the rest of this entry »