People ask me: “Why do you post so much on FaceBook?”
I take that question as a complement – I am blessed to have
flexibility in my life to allow me to actively promote my social presence – and
posting status updates, pictures, videos, comments, have all become routine… If
you are reading this, there is a good chance you are no stranger to these
practices as well.
My position and understanding of Facebook ‘Activity’
ventures a bit further from the narcissistic “I just like telling everyone
where I am and/or what I am doing (at this exact moment).” Much thought goes into every post.
Our personal social circles are not just friends, family,
and attractive members of the opposite sex – they are our individual
audiences. They are our urban
tribes, our support structures, and our partners-in-crime.
Even more importantly – thinking from a ‘Totality of
Circumstances’ perspective – I highly deliberate each posting not just for
those 1000 who I currently call ‘friend’ but because each posting becomes a
data-point of my current-self for future audiences to gain a better cumulative
idea of “me”.
All of our recorded postings, interactions, and
communications on FaceBook, Email, Text Message, etc… are creating data. This data currently sits on computer
servers across the planet. Backed
up regularly, there might be several copies of every correspondence we make –
in today’s corporate-world nothing is/can be permanently deleted (unless expressly
stated but even still are you really 100% certain?).
All of this data will one day be mined, studied,
picked-apart, and (most likely) proudly displayed.
The ancient Egyptians used Pyramids to house their buried
dead. Highly protected with trap
doors, secret passages, and armed guards - for many years, highly prized
possessions were kept secure from trespassers and tomb-robbers. But go to any museum and these
possessions, corpses, and belongings are dolled up and open for the viewing. Traditions, cultural respects, and past
beliefs – all sacrificed due to the natural phenomenon of time.
FaceBook Terms of Service change as readily as a the wind
blows across the Sahara. In 500
years, is it really rational to expect that future generations will adhere to
the same respects of our data as we do within our current culture?
Right now all of our information is kept private –
passwords, security, etc… but secrets lose relevance over time - in 300 years
who will defend your information from being readily available? What protections will withstand time to
prevent this data from being ‘dug up’ in a similar fashion as the Egyptian
tombs?
You will be long gone – but your FaceBook posts and virtual
information will be exposed, studied, and judged.
Your virtual self will become your legacy.
This is data – this is a record – and just as the Egyptians
could have never imagined a mummy being on display as a tourist exhibit – what
you post today on FaceBook might
end up as the topic of some futuristic 5th Graders science
study.
How would you like to be remembered? What will your legacy look like?
Time to file this on my record for the evening.
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