How To Tell If You Are Private Online

Your VPN says you're "private and secure". Tor and the so called private browsers promise "complete anonymity". How can you prove it?

Here's a simple way to tell if your private browsing solution REALLY is keeping you private.

While using your VPN, Tor, or any private browser simply do this:

1. On any website, right click on any image.

2. Click "Save Image As..."

3. When the popup window appears, does it show YOUR PC?

If you are seeing your PC in the popup window it means that website (and any website) can see and touch your device. If a site can see your device there is no way you can be private (and definitely not secure).

True online privacy comes when you isolate your device from the browsing session. That can only be done with a cloud browser like TraceFree

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Online Privacy Secrets

Think your browsing is really private? Think you're private when using a VPN or the Tor browser?


Want to know a couple easy ways to tell how private you are?

Want to know why industries are switching from a VPN to the cloud browser?


The book Online Privacy Secrets Revealed will show you how you can tell what information you are revealing when browsing.

The experts told you to use Google's Incognito to surf privately. Thos same experts are recommending to use a VPN. Don't make the same mistake again.

What Is A Private Browser?

What is the one thing the privacy experts told you to do to in order to be private while browsing the Web?

What Most People Dont Know About Using A VPN

Everywhere you look you see ads for VPNs. They tell you that a VPN, or a virtual private network will keep you secure when browsing the Web.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Could The Online Privacy Problem Be Finally Solved?

Yesterday TraceFree, announced the world's first virtual private browser and may have finally solved the online privacy problem.

How to get the best prices online

A Ferrari with Neiman Marcus bags in the front seat and a minivan with plastic WalMart bags pull into the car wash center. Who do you think gets serviced first? Who do you think is offered the higher priced options?

Exactly. Why? 

How To Hide From Google

Private Search on Google is now possible

If you want to hide your browsing from Google or your company relies on Google's Ad Sense or Google Analytics, you are really going to want to read this.

Google is good, I mean REALLY good at tracking you and your browsing. Between Search, Chrome browser, Android phones, Google Maps, YouTube or any one of the millions of websites that have Google Analytics script on them it is VERY HARD to hide from Google.

However is it now possible and it is having a major impact.

How To Tell If You're Private Online

We hear mainstream media recommending different applications and services for online privacy. Most of these outlets are wrong and it’s frustrating to see the public be mislead.

There are 2 ways to determine how “private” your private online solution is.

The first way to know is the easiest. Is It Free?

You’ve heard the expression, “if it’s free, you’re not the consumer, you’re the product”. Well that's very true. Remember in the early days of the Internet when all the critics were asking’ “How will these free sites make money?” Now we know how

For starters, your browser was free wasn’t it? It either came with your device or you could download it for free. This amazing tool that lets you access so much information is free? How do you think a software company that had to pay to build that browser stays in business? How do you think they can afford to make updates? Your “free” browser knows EVERY search you made, every site you visited, every email you read/sent. Sounds pretty costly now doesn’t it?

So you surf in Incognito Mode? How much did you pay to use that? That free ad blocker program keeps you private right?

Now let’s look at all of those wonderful sites that let you do so many great things, for free. You can get just about any question answered by asking Google. You can share your thoughts and pictures with your friends on Facebook. You can play doctor by asking WebMD medical questions. You can communicate with anyone with email. Hmmm, those are all free aren't they?

That “private” search engine doesn’t share your search queries right? It really doesnt matter if they do or not, because your browser, your Internet provider and the sites you visit will be able to identify you, your device and know what you searched for. Private search engines are one of the biggest online myths out there and yet the media still advises the public to use them.

“Free” WiFi? Have you ever wondered how those retail stores that were struggling before, are now able to do so well after free WiFi was offered? You paid a couple bucks for a cup of coffee and then logged into THEIR website to accept their terms and conditions for their “free” WiFi service. Your device touched their website. What other establishment would let you take up space for hours without purchasing something. You are the product baby.

“One person, one cup, one neighborhood at a time”...doesn’t sound so wholesome now does it?

With each click, search, surf, email, post etc you are allowing every site and ISP to know more about you. If they aren’t leaving identifiers (cookies) on your device, they are reading the ones that are already there. With these identifiers that can build a very extensive profile of you.

The second way you can determine how “private” you really are. One of the best websites we know of is www.whatismybrowser.com This site gives you a complete rundown of your device on their site. It analyzes your OS, browser and all of the functions your browser has.

What we hope you can see here is that it PROVES that if their site can see, touch and identify your device, then ANY site can. When a website can see and touch your device it can identify you by the numerous cookies on your device. If the site is friendly you will probably only receive more cookies and be tracked online. If the site isn’t friendly, you could get a virus, be tracked and or locked out of your computer. Either way, all the info from your device will be sold and you have no idea to who.

Our next blog will show you How To Be Private Online

What Do North Korea, WannaCry And Bitcoins All Have In Common?

It's official North Korea was behind the massive WannaCry cyrberattack.

North Korea behind the virus.

Victims received ransom demands, paying did not unlock their computers. Victims were told to pay in Bitcoin (untraceable).

Companies are now buying Bitcoins in order to hedge themselves against the next cyberattack.

What percentage of bitcoin buying is investment oriented versus hedging?

Ok companies are buying Bitcoin as a hedge, but what can they do to protect themselves in the mean time?

Easy. Just do this.

The Insider Buying Report..Finding Small Companies Before They Become Big Winners

Just a couple months ago we featured an Internet of Things nanocap stock (market cap of $15M) that had very nice insider buying.

Today that stock is up over 250% and the IBR Portfolio year to date is up 197%.

We only focus on small companies with insider buying.

Small companies with insider buying have been delivering big winners for subscribers.

Subscribe today

Who Is A Bigger Threat To Internet Advertising Industry Than Google And Facebook?

 "the tech duopoly’s dominance threatens the marketplace of ideas"

 In 2017 Google and Facebook have accounted for 84% of all digital advertising outside China, including 96% of its growth, according to an industry forecast this month from Zenith, Magna and GroupM.

This is scary.

Google is used for nearly 90% of online searches in the U.S. A Pew survey this summer found that the four most popular social-media sites for getting news are Facebook, YouTube (owned by Google), Twitter (which has a Google partnership), and Instagram (owned by Facebook). No more than 5% of Americans use another social-media platform to get news.

Who has even greater influence than Facebook and Google?...your Internet provider.

They control the "pipe" to your device. They are the ultimate gatekeeper and would have even more control over what ads and news you see.

France Has A Problem With Facebook And Their Whatsapp Privacy

When you understand that EVERY application on your phone can see every other app, your contacts and activity (calls, texts, pics, location, email, messages) of your phone, you will be more careful of which "free" apps you download.

France’s data privacy watchdog may fine messaging app WhatsApp if it does not comply with an order to bring its sharing of user data with parent company Facebook (FB.O) into line with French privacy law.

“The only way to refuse the data transfer for “business intelligence” purpose is to uninstall the application,” the CNIL said in a statement. 

Ride Hailing Servies Like Uber Are Disrupting Other Businesses

How do ride hailing services impact parking rental real estate?

Fewer people are parking cars at airports, using taxis or renting cars, according to a recent report from the National Academies Press.

Those trend lines are hurting airports, which depend on fees from parking lots, rental car companies and taxis as their biggest source of revenue other than the fees paid by the airlines. The money they currently collect from ride-hailing services do not compensate for the lower revenues from the other sources.

The Federal Aviation Administration reported in November that the $4 billion in fees collected last year for parking and ground transportation represented nearly 42 percent of the $9.6 billion in airport revenue from sources other than airline fees.

The revenue from parking is this big.
The combination far exceeded the fees the airports collected from food and beverage outlets, stores and hotels

Will this impact airport municipal bond ratings?

How could airports utilize that vacant space?

Great Insider Buying Books

 If you're serious about learning how and why investing using insider buying as an indicator can deliver above average performance, here are two great insider buying books


From George Muzea's "The Vital Few Versus The Trivial Many"

 Look for the "Catalytic Insider", otherwise known as "Stud Insiders" or "Smart Insiders".

Anytime you see an insider buying a stock that is already in an uptrend, the insider buying is "catalytic" in nature.

There is nothing better than having one or more insiders buying into a stock that is in an uptrend and already has institutional sponsorship.

The Catalytic Insider is actually the momentum investor's best friend.

Another great read for insider buying is Jesse Stine's "Insider Buy Superstocks".


Jesse's winning formula was uncovering undiscovered stocks fueled by insider buying.

Insiders often buy because of a catalyst that may not appear for several quarters.

It's difficult to go wrong when following the insiders.

At the Insider Buying Report, every day we scan the insider filings and search for a company that has either breakthrough technology or part of a major investing wave.

We are looking for small companies hidden from Wall Street whose insiders are doing the talking with their wallet. Nothing signifies optimism more than an executive who is in the know buying their stock in the open market.

Insider Buying Sites

Websites that offer insider buying data.

 Finviz.com

GuruFocus.com

 InsiderInsights.com

InsiderMonitor.com

 InsiderMonkey.com


InsiderTracking.com

InsiderTrade.net

j3sg.com

OpenInsider


Get nanocaps with insider buying at the Insider Buying Report

Internet Over Power Lines Is Coming

Broadband over Powerlines.

AT&T Inc has started trials in Georgia state and a non-U.S. location to deliver high-speed internet over power lines.

AT&T aims to eventually deliver speeds faster than the 1 gigabit per second consumers can currently get through fiber internet service using high-frequency airwaves that travel along power lines.

“Potentially, it can be a really big deal,” said Roger Entner, an analyst at Recon Analytics. “You need the power company to play ball with you. That’s the downside.”

Follow The Money

We have seen the best written press releases from small companies. In a press release a company can say just about anything as long as they post that "Forward looking Statement" caveat. Master writers find ways to lure unsuspecting investors with hot top words.

The hot topic words this month are bitcoin, cryptocurrency, litecoin and etherum. The companies find any way to get one of these words in their press release.

The one thing that is authentic and speaks for itself though?..insider buying. Anytime an insider buys shares in the open market they are issuing a different kind of press release. 

When an insider or insiders buy stock in their own company, we listen.

Come see why as of today, the IBR Portfolio is up 170% for the 4th Qtr.

Insider Buying Report

Investing Trends And Technologies To Watch

At the Insider Buying Report, we are the investing trends we are watching:

We look for nanocap companies that either have breakthrough technology or could play a role in one of the following trends.

1. Artificial Intelligence
2. Cloud Computing
3. Big Data or Data Mining
4. Autonomous Vehicles
5. Cybersecurity
6. Internet of Things
7. Automation or Robotics
8. Next Gen TV Cord Cutting
9. OLED organic light emitting diodes
10. Satellite Wifi
11. 5G
12. Genetics
13. On Demand Workers
14. Blockchain
15. Cryptocurrency
16 Online Privacy
17. Trump Tax Bill
18. Marijuana

We also are on the lookout for companies that have revolutionary or breakthrough technology.

Subscribe To the Insider Buying Report Today

Want To Short Bitcoin?

Want to short bitcoin?

Interactive Brokers is now allowing it.

A major online broker, Interactive Brokers Group Inc., says it will allow investors to bet against, or short, bitcoin, on its trading platform, shifting an earlier stance to only provide trading access to customers to bitcoin futures making outright long investments in the bubblicious cryptocurrency.

“The introduction of short sales was necessitated by the large premium of the January futures contract over the price at which Bitcoin trades on the physical venues,” said Chairman of Interactive Brokers LLC Thomas Peterffy. (source)

Insider Buying..Outperforming The Market For Years

 At Insider Buying Report, we don't make this stuff up. Following insider buying has proven to outperform the general market for many years.

We specialize in following insider buying in nanocaps and microcaps.

Tweedy Browne's "What Has Worked in Investing" report is practically an investment bible, put together by the asset manager to show clients the findings that have shaped its investment process over the years.

All of the studies show a similar result; the investment returns on stocks purchased after insiders’ buying are vastly superior to the rest of the market.

For example, in the first study, which looked at the returns on equities during 1958, insider stocks gained 49.6% compared to the market return of 29.7%.

The second study looked at returns between 1961 and 1965. During this period, insider stocks returned 21.2%, and the market returned 9.5%. Even though the third study considered the same period, results were even more impressive. This particular study looked at equity returns after insiders’ purchases between 1960 and 1965 and found an insider return of 24.3% compared to the market return of 6.1%.

The final study was the only one conducted after 1965 and looked at the returns on insider stocks between 1974 and 1976. Still, despite the different period, the results were the same. Insider stocks returned 45.8% over the period studied compared to the market return of 15.3%. (source)

 Even though these findings are somewhat out of date, the trend is clear. Insider buying is an unyielding signal for investors.   You can download a copy of the report Here

Subscribe to Insider Buying Report today.

The Insider Buying Report Has Officially Launched

Having invested publicly and privately in nanocap companies with either breakthrough technology or part of a major investing wave for over 30 years, we have a pretty good idea of what companies have wealth changing potential.

It all starts with the insiders, they know more than the public...so why not follow them?

At the Insider Buying Report we scan ALL insider buying. We then have specific criteria we look for. We look for specific type of buying and from specific people. Not all insider buying is created equal, and we know that.

We then do homework to see if the company has either breakthrough technology or if they could be part of a major investing trend.

After getting feedback from certain members, we quietly launched.

Our first featured company was Digital Power (DPW) at .60 in September. We wanted to find a way to invest in the bitcoin and cryptocurrency wave. We saw the large insider buying in DPW and did some digging. We determined their subsidiary Coolisys could be the equipment provider to this industry.

While nanocaps have considerable risk, investing at the same time as insiders can sometimes reduce that risk.

We feature small companies with insider buying.

Check us out Insider Buying Report

What Happens To Online Advertisers If.....Not If But WHEN

Internet users are discovering the benefits of surfing in Google's Incognito Mode or Firefox's Private Window, much to the chagrin of subscription websites (or sites who limit the number of free reads).

One of Australia’s oldest media companies is ‘on the verge of totally collapse’ after a flaw in their multi-million dollar paywall has led to thousands of Australians reading their articles for free.

At the moment, the brand’s flagship newspapers allow unsubscribed readers to enjoy a total of 30 free articles per month, before putting up a paywall preventing the user from reading anymore unless they start paying.

However, that paywall can be easily bypassed by opening the article in an Incognito Window, which is hitting Fairfax hard, according to one insider.

But privacy?

Privacy? It basically comes down to whether how much Google wish to add to their users' profiles: Google needs to save data about our browsing habits so they can keep developing their search algorithms – and of course so they can target advertising to us.

But what if....what if we could surf the Web in such a way that websites, ISPs, and even your own device would have no idea who is surfing? What happens to the online advertising industry WHEN that happens?

Trumps Signs Bill Letting ISPs See and Share Your Browsing History

Trump officially ended online privacy rules.

Internet providers will not have to ask permission before sharing sensitive data with advertisers.

Many are saying to use a VPN to keep your online browsing from being seen by your ISP but that isn't true. The truth is, if your browser runs on your device, you cannot have complete privacy and security. Cookies and viruses can still touch and see your device. Sites can track you from site to site while you use a VPN too. VPNs have many cons.

How can you keep your online privacy? Use a cloud browser.

Cloud browsers are the wave of the future. 

Your true location is hidden, history, cookies, and viruses stay isolated from you and your device.

Personal computing is and has shifted to the cloud. Applications run in the cloud NOT on the device.

Shouldn't your browser do the same?

 

House Passes Resolution Making ISPs More Powerful Than Google And Facebook.

 Your online privacy just went out the window.

As I have been saying for a while, the cable box in your house knows more about you than any website.

They know what web searches you made, sites you visited, your downloads, your emails. They know what you liked on Facebook. They know what texts/pics you shared on your apps.

They know what TV shows you recorded, when and where you watched them. They know what you were doing with your other devices while you were watching TV.

Sure you can clear your cookies and history on your web browser, but that doesn't stop the cable company from following your online activity because they control the pipe. They can even monitor you when you surf on another provider. * There is only one way I know you can hide your Internet traffic from your provider.

Why the cable companies haven't capitalized on this goldmine is beyond me...well now they can.

Today the GOP just killed consumer broadband privacy protections.

The House of Representatives today voted 215 to 205 to kill privacy rules protecting US broadband subscribers. If you're interested in a little thing called public accountability, you can find a breakdown of which Representatives voted for the measure here. The rules, approved by the FCC last fall, were slated to take effect this month.

Today's vote came after the Senate voted 50-48 last week to kill the rules.

A Slippery Slope And Reason To Be Your Own Boss

 A new bill would allow employers to demand genetic testing from workers.

A little-noticed bill moving through Congress would allow companies to require employees to undergo genetic testing or risk paying a penalty of thousands of dollars, and would let employers see that genetic and other health information.

"What this bill would do is completely take away the protections of existing laws," said Jennifer Mathis, director of policy and legal advocacy at the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, a civil rights group. In particular, privacy and other protections for genetic and health information in GINA and the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act "would be pretty much eviscerated," she said.

YouTube On Pace To Eclipse TV

YouTube viewers world-wide are now watching more than 1 billion hours of videos a day, threatening to eclipse U.S. television viewership, a milestone fueled by the Google unit’s aggressive embrace of artificial intelligence to recommend videos.

YouTube surpassed the figure, which is far larger than previously reported, late last year. It represents a 10-fold increase since 2012, YouTube said, when it started building algorithms that tap user data to give each user personalized video lineups designed to keep them watching longer.

So who could threaten YouTube's growth?

How YouTube Could Increase Clicks And Revenue

What do you do when you see a 30 second ad pop up on a YouTube video?..Yeah you either open a second window and browse something else while you wait or you leave..either way you never wait an eternity (30 seconds) for the video.

YouTube finally realized that nobody waits 30 seconds.

 

Starting next year, YouTube will stop allowing the 30-second unskippable ad and will focus instead on shorter formats.

If YouTube wants viewers to watch more ads or get more clicks, they simply need to offer the video owner the ability to click on an object in the video.  Insert hyperlinks IN the video.

 

Google, who owns YouTube, should create the ability to insert a hyperlink on an image in a video.

Make the video just like a website where there are more ways to get info. People could even stay on the ad JUST to find hyperlinks.

Snap IPO Approaches And We See A Massive Conflict Coming

Snap, the parent of wildly "successful" app Snapchat is going public with a valuation between $19.5B-$22.2B.

One of the principal concepts of Snapchat is that pictures and messages are only available for a short time before they become inaccessible. Yeah the pics disappear because they aren't on my screen any more :)

Users are lead to believe their messages are "private" but as we all know, NOBODY reads the Privacy Policy in 6 font.

That's where we see:

"you grant Snap Inc. and our affiliates a worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable, and transferable license to host, store, use, display, reproduce, modify, adapt, edit, publish, and distribute that content."

"you also grant Snap Inc., our affiliates, and our business partners the unrestricted, worldwide, perpetual right and license to use your name, likeness, and voice.  (think about that all you present and future celebrities).

Can you see where this is going in this day of Internet celebrities?

What brand wouldn't pay to use Kim Kardashian's pics (or think of any other self absorbed person taking selfies) to promote their brand?

Here's the thing..there's nothing they can do about it.

"This means, among other things, that you will not be entitled to any compensation from Snap Inc., our affiliates, or our business partners if your name, likeness, or voice is conveyed through Live, Local, or other crowd-sourced Services, either on the Snapchat application or on one of our business partner’s platforms" (source)

Think of the other adult oriented possibilities with all of those nudie shots too. Would you want your face/body/voice be part of a porn movie promotion, STD commercial, pharmaceutical product, bankruptcy ad, or anything that you would be embarrassed (or have to explain to your friends)?

ALWAYS REMEMBER..if the service is free you are the PRODUCT, not the consumer.

So the question is would users pay a subscription fee if the company promised to not share any content with any 3rd party?

Is their a metric that could determine profitability to number of paid users?

I see some very interesting conflicts arising with this one.

Google To Purge Millions Of Apps From Play Store...For Privacy?

 As if anyone ever reads the tiny print privacy policy. Apparently Google feels that if you don't have one publicly, they will purge your app from their store.

Over the last 24 hours, Google has been sending notices to developers worldwide stating its intention to “limit visibility” or remove apps from the Play Store that violate the company’s User Data policy.

For most devs, the violation seems to be a simple one: lack of a privacy policy.

App developers have until March 15 to make the privacy policy addition, or Google warns “administrative action will be taken to limit the visibility of your app, up to and including removal from the Play Store.” 

The truth is, once you download an app, the app owner and ALL of the other apps on your device, know. Your device becomes a cesspool with each app sharing info.

And it isn't just privacy, it's permissions too. Some apps not only have access to the info on your device BUT can also control the hardware (camera).

Keeping applications in the cloud, and not on your device, would go a long way of helping with privacy and permission issues.

Dropbox Rolls Out Google Docs Competitor..Keep This In Mind

Dropbox is launching a public version of its new Paper service to make a name for itself among collaborative productivity suite providers such as Google Docs and Microsoft's Office 365.


Paper, which has been available in beta since last year, is aiming to win converts from the big names in the space with a user interface that the company said makes collaboration between coworkers easier. The cloud-based platform will allow users to manage shared documents by assigning different tasks and deadlines to various collaborators.

Here's the questions I have.

If you own a physical storage unit, would you allow the owner of the development to go inside it anytime they want? Would you let them share what is inside to the public?

Do you realize anything created and stored inside these public storage sites is THEIR property, not yours?

What is the company's policy if proprietary material is on this site?

Something to think about.

What Other Ways Can You think Of To Stay Off The Grid By Using The Grid?

On the TV show Hunted, where contestants try to avoid capture for 28 days, one group tries to stay off the grid by using the grid in a special way.

The guys create a Gmail account that is just numbers and letters (ed8x$4dds@gmail.com) and then sends letters (with no return address) to friends with their code names. Once again the code names are random.

One thing I never knew is that the Government scans EVERY piece of mail..

The guys create DRAFT emails for each person with their code name. Their friends can communicate with them by continuing the DRAFT email and never sending it. An email that is never sent cannot be tracked.

Eventually their own paranoia gets the best of them.

Can you think of ways to use the Net without being tracked?

What Does This Do To The App Store Space?

Comes under the category of "Why didn't I think of that?".

Doesn't it seem antiquated that we need to go to a separate site to use an app?

What happens to the control that the iTunes and Google Play have?

1App allows apps to bypass the app store to get users to download. They cut out the middleman (app store).


The Menlo Park, California-based startup has taken the disruptive cloud-streaming technology and applied it to the problem of app discovery. Now you can use 1App’s OneOS to instantly deliver a mobile app to someone who wants to try it out.

Raheel Hasan, CEO of 1App, said in an interview with VentureBeat that 1App can stream a full app experience to any device in any mobile environment. You could play an Android game on an iPhone if you wanted to, with no waiting and now no need to bother with stores or downloads.

The question is...who gets the data now?   

Will apps need to place their app in the app stores?
Can this be the new way to get an app on a device?
What percentage of the revenue will 1App get versus who places the app ad?
What will this do to Apple's 30% cut on app subscriptions? 
Has 1App found a way over Apple's walled garden? 

What Apple Should Spend Some Of That $246B On

Google's motto is "Don't Be Evil".

Apple likes to "Think Different".

Apple's new slogan should be, "Making the next generation even better"..here's how you do it.

Apple, every kid in this world has bought SEVERAL products of yours, I think it's time to give some of that profit back, in a very productive way.

Apple has $246B in cash sitting offshore. President Trump wants it back on this side of "the wall".

Silicon Valley is all up in arms about the immigration issue. They all fear they might lose some talent or be prohibited from poaching from other countries. We have the brightest minds in the world but they are being taught the skills to survive in an analog world.

Take $10B and start the Apple University.

 M.I.T, Harvard, Stanford.....and now Apple.

Teach the next generation the necessary skills (computer, math, physics etc) needed to survive in the new digital job marketplace.

What kid wouldn't want to go to THAT school?

The winners in the next generation will be kids that create, not regurgitate facts (that's why we have Google). Computers and software are great at processing but they lack the ability to create. THAT is the skill our kids should be learning.

Apple could even abolish the current testing standards and create new ones.

Think of the possibilities.

Does This Concern You?

 

 

New York plans to install vast system of facial recognition cameras that matches drivers licenses to social media accounts at bridges and tunnels.

Facebook already has face tagging and Check In feature. Can you imagine the opportunity for  Snapchat?

As Eli Pariser writes in the book The Filter Bubble (highly recommended), "the ability to search by face will shatter many of our cultural illusions about privacy and anonymity"

Here is what is REALLY scary?

A while ago Facebook cut a deal with political website Politico that allows the independent site machine-access to Facebook users' messages, both public and private. 

Facebook already bought WhatsApp for $19B, Will they buy SnapChat before they go public?

As soon as Facebook finds a way to tie in commerce to the platform, it's game over.

I can't help thinking this has gotten out of control.  How did this get so bad so quick?

Those "Privacy Policy" pages that are never read, have created such lasting damage.

So how do we stop it?  

The Next Big Thing is Privacy. Stuart Langridge has the right idea.

Privacy will define the next major change in computing.

The way you beat an incumbent is by coming up with a thing that people want, that you do, and that your competitors can’t do. Not won’t. Can’t.

How do you beat Google and Facebook? 

By inventing a thing that they can’t compete against. By making privacy your core goal. Because companies who have built their whole business model on monetising your personal information cannot compete against that. They’d have to give up on everything that they are, which they can’t do. Facebook altering itself to ensure privacy for its users… wouldn’t exist. Can’t exist.

The company who works out how to convince people that privacy is important will define the next five years of technology. (source)

Mainframe, PC, Cloud Computing..what is next?  Private Computing? A Private Internet?

The technological advances we have made just in the last 5 years makes me think that it is possible to get back our privacy. It will happen when people have their own data used against themselves.

When one day they wake up and say "How did they know that?".  That's the "A Ha!" moment.

Watch the TV show The Hunted, to see how public you really are.

Big problems lead to Big Solutions.

 

What Happens With The Death Of Cash?

The days of cash being accepted as legal tender are quickly coming to an end. Within a decade, cash will be dead.

Have you ever given thought to the ramifications to this?

What happens when cash is no longer accepted as a form of payment? When you are forced to use digital currency to make ANY type of payment say good bye to your last bit of privacy.

When Chase Bank started their new "Cash Policy", it started a wave that will soon eliminate the last bit of privacy consumers have.

Think of all of the people and consumer items affected.

Buying items that you don't want, or can't have identified on your credit card, will be gone. (from embarrassing drug store items to those funny cigarettes). 

People that make a living, and unreported income, will soon have their income reported and be on the grid. From hairdressers, valets to people that sell illegal goods.

More income will HAVE TO BE reported. (as a side note another reason why marijuana should be legalized).

What about the really bad drugs? What happens to that industry when cash is dead? Does it help or hurt that industry? How about unregistered guns that are sold? Or stolen items?


Surveillance cameras watch you, postal service scans your mail, credit card companies track your purchases, cellphone towers can locate you and cookies from surfing let ISPs, websites and domains follow your EVERY move.

Cash is the one last form of privacy consumers have..and soon it will be gone.

You Do Realize You're On The Same Team Right?

We can learn a lot from the Packers Falcons game, and almost any football game in general,  about how to win.

The teams all wear the same color uniform . There isn't a different color or notation for the defense or offense players.

When a defensive player intercepts a pass, the defensive player doesn't stop, he tries to help the team by running it back for a score...even though he is a defensive player.

When the quarterback throws an interception, the offensive players try to stop the opposing player from running it back for a score.

Their instinct is in helping the team.

Each player on the TEAM does what is best for the team, not for their "party".

Why can't the "players" on the U.S Team do the same?

My suggestion for Congress:

Forget the idea of a third party, GET RID OF ALL PARTIES. The members in Congress all wear the same color jersey, so stop with the classification.

A touchdown scored by a running back or a safety is good for the team, regardless who scores it.

I would suggest that Congress offer a way for members to submit their ideas anonymously.  Members would then vote on just the idea, not on who or what party it came from.

A bird has a left and right wing. It can only fly when both wings work together.