Two things caught my attention in the tech world last week. One was that the iPhone 6 with IOS8 is encrypted and even Apple can't unencrypt (is that a word?). It makes all the unlawful gathering of data that's going on now go away to a large degree. Even if served with a warrant, Apple can't get the info, unless you're saved the info to the cloud. I thought Tim Cook, the CEO, had a brilliant statement, something along the lines of "You are not our product", meaning that Google sees it's customers are their product, because it's all the data they gather about you that they sell to people that makes them money.
The second was the viral rise of a new social media site called "ello" . It's said to be a Facebook type site, but they don't see selling your information or collecting data about you their business either. It's a small, growing company, taking on Facebook as the "Anti-Facebook" and right now, to control growth to a manageable level, they are only allowing people in by invitation only.
Two moves in the right direction, in my opinion.
I have seen some people really upset with the Apple thing, saying that "how will law enforcement do it's job now, without being able to pull all that data". The best response I saw in some comments were "How'd law enforcement solve crimes before the smart phone?".
Anyone else following this stuff?
Here's the info from the ello page :
"Your social network is owned by advertisers.
Every post you share, every friend you make and every link you follow is tracked, recorded and converted into data. Advertisers buy your data so they can show you more ads. You are the product that’s bought and sold.
We believe there is a better way. We believe in audacity. We believe in beauty, simplicity and transparency. We believe that the people who make things and the people who use them should be in partnership.
We believe a social network can be a tool for empowerment. Not a tool to deceive, coerce and manipulate — but a place to connect, create and celebrate life.
You are not a product."