A bubble can be something short-lived and insubstantial. It can also be a plastic shield that encloses, as when someone is being protected from an alien atmosphere or threatening germs, the "boy in the bubble" situation. Some people have expressed a worry that so much information about me will be collected by Google, Microsoft, etc. that only very tailored information streams will be directed at me. Maybe I will never be exposed to views and ideas not in line with my search history and expressed tastes and convictions.
Having thought a little bit about this concept, I have decided I have more important things to worry about. I use Firefox for most web browsing and I have the options set to delete cookies and browsing history when I close the Firefox browser. When I do use Chrome, Google's browser, I delete all collected information it lists using the choice provided that says "from the beginning of time", which is really a long way back and well before my birth or computers.
However, I use Google's free email "Gmail" and their free blogging site, "Blogger", and their free web site creation and hosting service, "Google Sites". Google has advanced staff and thinkers and tons of money. I am sure they can hire programmers and private investigators and find out where I go and what I do quite easily. It seems that the alumni offices of various schools are themselves pretty darned good at tracking me down but they may not know I subscribe to the Discover magazine. Actually, Google and others may not care about me. Scary but true. They may have little interest in me.
As my businessman relative says, stop and think what demographic I am in. I am not between 25 and 45. I am not making babies or investments. I don't want a Porche or other enhancements to my "look". So, I am probably not worthwhile.
In these months of what many people feel are unusually uncivil, unmannerly arguments between various men who want to be elected to run the country, one does wonder if those who are passionately in favor of some idea and those who are passionately against it have heard much of the other side's point of view. I wonder if I have stumbled onto the underlying obstacle to more understanding of others: we all need to delete our cookies more often! Empty our caches so that we start each day from scratch.
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Bill
Main blog: Fear, Fun and Filoz
Main web site: Kirbyvariety
