Pogue and Paranoia

In a recent post, Free Speech Recognition, David Pogue questioned whether the poor ratings of an iPhone app were because users need to upload to the company information that they considered private with the potential that the company would then in some way misue that information. He commented on similar concerns that have surfaced around Gmail.

But Pogue's observation is right on target:

What I don’t understand is: Why don’t these same people worry that Verizon or AT&T is listening in to their cellphone calls every single day? Why don’t they worry that MasterCard is peeking into their buying habits? How do they know Microsoft and Apple aren’t slurping down private documents off the hard drive and laughing their heads off?

I mean, if you’re gonna be paranoid, at least be rational about it. 

I know folks who refuse to make an online purchase for fear of their credit card number being stolen. These are the same people who happily say that number over the telephone or give their credit card physically to shady looking waiters who disappear with it.*

It's always seemed to me that the world would be much improved if everyone throughout their lives were required to go back to school one week each year just to learn some very practical kinds of things. The first class** I would require would be "Understanding and Managing Online Risks." Why is sending your social security in respons to an email back to a bank you've never heard of not a good idea, but buying something from Amazon with your Visa is pretty safe? Why is it unlikely that mysterious people are reading all your boring e-mails, but why should you worry about sending an e-mail out that slams your boss? Is it safer to keep your photos on your home computer or on Flickr?

If only they would put ME in charge of the world!

*OK, I'll admit my personal paranoia demands that I only use a "cookie-free" browser to search for travel bargains since I've heard travel companies use cookie records to see how desparate you are for that booking.

** Other classes would include

• Why You are Menace to Yourself and Others Using a Cellphone While Driving
• Why Drinking Mountain Dew All Day Long is Not Good for You
• How to Help Your Kids with Their Homework Without Actually Doing It for Them

Conflicting conferences

As I often admit, I swing both ways - I am both an ALA and an ISTE member. (Now get your minds out of the gutter.) Like an increasing number of librarians, I have a tough choice to make nearly every summer: Do I attend the NECC ISTE conference or the ALA conference?

Librarian Diane Chen sent an e-mail to a listserv asking why this situation continues and I sent her question to Leslie Connery, Deputy CEO of ISTE, who has major, major ISTE conference responsibilities. With her permission, I am posting her reply here:

We, like you, are very aware of this problem [overlapping conference dates] and would like to find a solution that works for everyone. We know that some of ISTE’s most engaged leader-members are involved in both ISTE and ALA and that they would like to attend both conferences. We have the same struggle you do with regard to dates. I think we’ve both found the “sweet spot” for people and unfortunately – it’s the same sweet spot. A time when most American schools are out for the summer but before teachers are on vacation. And we, like you, have booked convention center space far into the future.

I’d love to get creative, think differently, and come up with a win-win-win solution for ALA, ISTE, and the educators we serve. I’m having difficulty thinking of creative solutions on this one but am more than willing to give it a try. 

Please let us know if you have some ideas on the issue or thoughts about how to proceed or simply would like to brainstorm. I don’t know if Doug chose his closing quote just for us but either way, it fit: The mind that is not baffled is not employed. The impeded stream is the one that sings. - Wendell Berry

So, any creative ideas for Leslie???

Snow Day - a reprise

Originally posted March 1, 2007.

The Mankato Area Public Schools are closed today on account of snow.  You have to work in schools and live in the northern parts of the United States to understand the real meaning of "snow day."

• It is God giving you an additional day of life.
• It is looking out the window and seeing beauty in the snow and wind rather than work.
• It is getting to that movie, that book, or that task that would have eaten up a weekend - guilt free.
• It is digging out and fixing a favorite soup recipe that takes too long to make on most days.
• It is not being jealous of your colleagues' weather in the South - for at least one day.
• It is remembering the delight of having a snow day when you were a kid.
• And the best thing - it is not setting the alarm knowing tomorrow will be a snow day as well. 

Do I sound insufferably smug and happy? Good. I am.

Today's snow day came at a great time. I'm planning to:

• Read an advance copy of Daniel Pink's new book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
• Play with and watch a Netflix movie using my new Roku device
• Get handouts updated and sent to CEESA for its March conference
• Book tickets to Mumbai for February's ASB Un-plugged Conference
• Make some homemade chicken noodle soup or chili
• Get caught up on blog reading and my blog post responses
• Finish my June Head for the Edge column for LMC
• Break out the cross country skiis if the wind goes down
• Take a nap - or two

Hope you are having a nice day where ever you are. Life is good here.