Privacy, I used to have it.

If I had to think of a scale on which to rate my control over my own information, I would rank the following ratings on a scale of one to five:

1: Aperture. Can I control who sees the information? (Five is complete control, where others cannot even pass on the information, and one is complete lack of control where the information is entirely public)
2: Reflectivity. Can I see a reciprocal level of information from others? And does a reciprocal level of information even exist? (Five is a tit-for-tat arrangement of shared info, and one is, well, one-way communication only)
3: Identity. Are the people who see the information aware it is my information? (Five is completely anonymous, One is every bit of it signed with my name)
4: Intention. Is the information pushed by me, or is it gathered by others. (Five is a process by which I publish the information and have complete control over it, One is a situation where I am, in essence, monitored)

Facebook... 3, 3, 1, 1. Total score: 8
I'd rate it higher if it weren't for the fact that pictures can be put up of me and tagged by other people without my knowing.

Twitter... 1, 1, 2, 1. Total score: 5
Twitter ended up almost more private than Facebook, until I realized that everyone who follows me on Twitter knows who I am. Then I thought more about the fact that I am 'followed' and lowered the Intention score a lot.

Gmail Calendar... 5, 4, 1, 3. Total score: 12
I think because the people who see my calendar are completely trustworthy, I'm comfy with the amount of information I put on it.

Blogger.com... 3, 5, 3, 3. Total score: 14 (16 for one of my blogs)
This is the last open space where I can put information about me that is not instantly seen by everyone I know.


Hmmmm. Does this keep me honest, or does it creep the crap out of me? Can't it be both?