Author Archives: Tricia Jose

Screenshot from Google.ca

Recently, Harris Interactive conducted a Google consumer study on behalf of BrandYourself.com. An online survey regarding their Google search habits was filled out by 2, 570 US adults.

The study found that 86% of people use a Google search engine to find out more information about another. Almost a third of US adults have searched a politician, with over half stating that this influenced their voting decision. 42% of people have searched someone before conducting business with them, and 43% of people have searched a romantic interest (potential date, significant other, ex-boyfriend/girlfriend.)

While it may be obvious to some that having a good online presence is crucial to maintaining a positive digital identity, the results of this study enforce this for those who may need a gentle reminder. Interestingly, when talk of Google searches and digital identity arises, most of the focus is placed on the person that is being searched, rather than the person who is doing the searching. This is evident in this recent Harris Interactive study.

This is understandable, of course. But for the sake of argument, what of the digital identity of the person who is doing the searching? Buzzfeed posted an article outlining “Why Google, not Facebook, knows your darkest secrets.”  It argues that while Facebook “presents a mile-high view of your online social history, which while unsettling in sheer size and scope, is selective and containable, ” Google “servers are a repository of the developed world’s darkest and most heartbreaking secrets, a vast closet lined with millions of digital skeletons that, should they escape, would spare nobody.”

In 2006, a group of researchers got a hold of a large database of search logs released by AOL. Though the month-long logs from the ~650, 000 users were made anonymous, identities were soon discovered with ease; their private search queries made public. All of  sudden, online identities were undesirably linked to offline identities. And as much as we’d like to believe this tasteless move by AOL is as retired a concept as Walkmans, this digital age has proved that aspiring towards anonymity in our ever-increasingly connected world is, while ideal, simply unrealistic.

Are you aware that Google is tracking you through all its available services?  Do you know how to erase your digital path? Have you thought about what your search history may reveal about you?

We know of the increasing concerns of privacy and security in social networks. Why should we treat search engines like Google any different? If complete control and privacy is what we seek, perhaps Google is not the place to begin our search.

Photo Source: Phillip Jeffrey (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

According to campus newspaper The Ubyssey, Twitter account @UBCDimeWatch was deleted yesterday, after allegations were made against student athletes regarding their involvement with the Twitter feed and its corresponding website.

The Twitter account, said to contain non-consensual photos of and suggestive comments about UBC’s “dimes” – (attractive women worthy of top scores on the infamous ten-point scale,) was discovered by the UBC Athletics department on Tuesday night, after a tweet by UBC Insiders editor revealed that the domain name thedimewatch.com was registered to varsity hockey player Ben Schmidt. The website, which has now been made private, appears linked to the Twitter account. According to Schmidt, who has now also made his personal Twitter private, he made the site for a friend.

The evidence does seem to suggest, however, that a number of athletes, notably within the men’s hockey team, have something to do with the anonymous account. UBC Athletics called for an emergency meeting with these athletes on Wednesday, and is currently investigating the incident. UBC Director of Public Affairs Lucie MacNeill discloses that “there was some concern expressed to us,” but according to the Ubyssey, notes that “it is not UBC’s place to uncover the identity of the people behind the anonymous account.”

Student athletes have been central to many conversations regarding social media use. The last thing universities want is for the postings of their young ambassadors to poison their own reputation, and especially not that of the team or the school. While some schools have already instilled social media policies, UBC is currently in the process of developing one, in response to this incident.

A few commenters to the UBC Insiders’ article expressed their discomfort with the writer’s slant, a few attempting to clarify that the Twitter account was meant to be a satirical and humorous account, and others offended by the suggestions made that the opinions of the Twitter account reflected those of all student athletes.

Unfortunately, as we have seen time and time again, the Internet is an unforgiving place. It cares not for your intentions, and simply places your words on display at face value, often with no context. It has not been confirmed whether or not the account did have anything to do with the athletes in question, nor whether it was meant as a humorous account. However, to the outside world, it does not really matter. What third parties have observed, and can (and will) draw conclusions from is that a lewd Twitter account objectifying women has been linked to UBC, and its student athletes.

Are a few laughs worth all this fuss? Do we, capable young adults, really need someone to stand over our shoulder and police what we say and tweet?

Instead of looking out for dimes, perhaps what we need to do is begin evaluating our social media practices and ourselves in search of how we can make real change.