The explosion of the Information Age

For several years now, the term Space Age has been working its way out of our vocabulary (advertising excepted), as we realize that we're now in the Information Age.

But what does that mean?

At first, the entrance of the internet into the mainstream meant that you could find a wide variety of information, and communicate with people around the world. At that point, the world wide web was the dominant application, with email and newsgroups for direct communication. Webpages were fairly easy to create, but mostly static.

Instant messaging appeared on the scene, and became universal, while IRC hasn't grown much in the last ten years.

Blogs, and now social networking sites, have come to replace static personal webpages.

Web 2.0 came around, trite as I may consider that moniker, but that is the very concept that has finally powered the explosion of the Information Age -- fully dynamic content.

Now, instead of just reading prepared corporate webpages, or a long-lost friend's ode to his dog (with pictures!), I can find almost any information online, and even edit it! Instead of reading the samples from Britannica or Grolier and deciding if I want to buy a subscription, I can go to Wikipedia, and find articles on nearly anything, updated constantly, and even make corrections while I'm there. With YouTube, I can review moments in recent history -- whether snippets from broadcast television, long-running shows like LG15 created specifically for this new format, or even mobile phone video of tyranny in action in Burma, then turn around and upload my vacation videos.

At OpenStreetMap, I can find free maps of major metro areas. For the US, TIGER data from the US Census Bureau is being converted and imported as I write this (hopefully to be done around May 2008). Earlier today, I personally updated a couple of intersections in my own city that have changed since those surveys.

A plethora of smaller projects, such as POI Factory, have sprung up, all with the idea of making information not only freely available, well-organized, and in useful formats, but easier to contribute.

We truly are at a breakthrough in society where you can not only find just about anything you want to know, but contribute your own knowledge to the collective. This is the explosion of the Information Age.

The root of identity theft

In the last few years, identity theft has become one of the hottest news topics. Companies, hospitals, and government agencies misplace backup tapes, have computers stolen, or fall victim to social engineering. Certainly these organizations deserve blame for mishandling what should be confidential information about their customers (that often should have been destroyed, or never even stored), but there's a bigger problem that gets too little attention.

The big problem is the assumed secrecy of identification numbers and trust of databases. Instant credit approval requires a social security number and perhaps a birth date. This very information is present in possibly millions of databases used by businesses and government agencies. How can we possibly expect it to remain secret if everyone we've allowed to check our credit, or even every medical practice we've visited, has it on file? It only takes one mistake by any employee to potentially reveal that supposedly secret information to a malicious person. Once breached, that information logically is no longer a reliable identifier. But it's still trusted.

It's practically criminal how much a credit file is trusted, and how easily fraudulent information is added. Further, eliminating fraudulent records from one's own credit file requires persistent, proactive efforts by an identity theft victim. Absent a fraud alert on the file, very few creditors seriously attempt to verify identity, and rarely do they question the accuracy of credit reports. That is the reason identity theft has such an impact. It can take years for fraudulent activity to appear, and only through the diligence of the victim is there any hope of correction. Until the information is proved incorrect, it is assumed to be reliable, and the damage continues.

Real identity theft protection requires a change in our culture. We must stop trusting databases and computers, and realize that behind them there are always people, who are fallible. The knowledge of a 9-digit number is not proof of one's identity. There is something reassuring about entering a bank and being greeted by name (and asked how my child is doing these days), not because I've swiped my ATM card and entered a PIN, but because the employees have taken the time to recognize me.