This video connects intercultural communication and our life on the web. Have you ever considered what your clothing or tattoo says about you? What about your social media post
Here are some heartwarming surveillance videos clips: Surveillance had been considered as that which happened in the spy world – James Bond, CIA, and the FBI. But slowly and surely, surveillance has come into all areas of our life. We have employment access cards, nanny web-cams, and smart phones that let us watch our house from the other side of the world. What about your job? Is surveillance a good thing?
Many workplace policies have an element of surveillance attached, even if only implied in the actual policy. For instance, I used to work at a financial institution and felt that one of the best policies ever implemented was their anti-harassment policy. This policy wasn’t readily accepted by all, but adhering to it was a condition of employment. I enjoyed the benefits of being true to myself without concern about disrespectful comments, jokes or pictures posted in public spaces. Enforcement came swiftly, without concern for status or position. There was implied surveillance in that policy. Be respectful of any and all cultures and maintain confidential information or someone around you will complain to management and you will be out! David Lyon touches on the benefits of surveillance with this statement, “…the good news was that by this means citizens and eventually workers could expect that their rights would be respected because they were protected by accurate records as well as by law.” (Lyon, 2008) Surveillance is in every day procedures within the workplace. Here is another example from the banking world: customer service representatives, financial advisors, managers and every other level of employment have monetary limits and structures to protect clients’ records and finances, and to protect the profit and reputation of the bank. The surveillance comes informally or formally, as in the case of audits. It is important to keep the rules in place to protect both the business an clients, and the most efficient way to do that is in the bureaucracy o surveillance. Contemporary big business does not allow for the honour system as a way to keep checks and balances; therefore, surveillance is a part and parcel of everyday corporate life. Surveillance cameras capture your picture as you walk into the bank and you assume that the cameras are there for protection of staff and property. But what if some savvy marketer also recognized that the surveillance could be used to build marketing strategies based on your ethnicity, clothing, or other non-verbal ways of communicating? Would one then have a different view of the surveillance camera if you knew you were being targeted for a line of credit or a special rewards program? Do we have a different viewpoint of this type of surveillance when we are online? I believe we are very accepting of marketing surveillance for profit on the internet, but would not be too happy about it in person. We don’t always like being judged by what we wear or what we drive. We want to think that we should get the best service no matter how we look. Yet I know that if I want to relate to someone I will make sure I am dressed to fit in because I know people are always watching! Perhaps I am being naïve to all the intentional and unintentional judgments that are made about us for someone’s profit, whether informally or formally, through surveillance cameras or internet cookies. But I think that the sense of acceptance when online makes us more forgiving of the reasons for surveillance and in effect we buy into participatory surveillance. It is interesting that discussion is taking place about participatory surveillance through social media as a way of leveling the playing field and bringing about empowerment because one chooses how much to display, or not if the case may be (Albrechtslund, 2008). Perhaps the same empowerment happens in the workplace through virtual and physical surveillance: we discipline ourselves knowing that we are being watched. That discipline can bring about freedom, therefore empowerment, for coworkers to honour and respect one another. Bibliography Albrechtslund, A. (2008). Online social networking as participatory surveillance. Retrieved from First Monday; Peer reviewed journals on the internet: http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2142/1949 Lyon, D. (2008). Surveillance society.Retrieved from www.festivaldeldiritto.it: http://www.festivaldeldiritto.it/2008/pdf/interventi/david_lyon.pdf http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_R0rlNiNzk&feature=player_detailpage#t=6 Who am I? M2.1
Who am I? What do I share about myself in the virtual world? In my quest to connect with my world, it could be possible that I am ignoring privacy and giving too much away. My strategy so far has been to adopt a ‘tree in the forest’ strategy. The idea of this strategy is that there are so many trees in the forest that my little tree won’t get noticed, therefore leaving me free to enjoy my world without gathering unwanted attention. It is a ‘hide in the open’ strategy. But I wonder if that is just a reaction against the scare tactics of those who think that there is an internet conspiracy out there just waiting to take over the world and in the process take you down (Albrechtslund, 2008). Or is it just carelessness? Should I be more cautious about how I portray myself? This strategy might be convenient, but does it really answer the question about what I think might get used or misused? If you have ever been the recipient of unwanted attention, it can be a concern. Even now as I write this I am hesitant to fully declare who I am or what I’ve experienced, because once it is stated it can be read anywhere, unless of course I figure out all the privacy levels in my blog, which takes time and effort. And that’s the kicker. Time and effort. I have to balance what I want out of this blog, my connection with classmates and instructors, with the resources needed to protect myself from…who? Before the virtual world, I had to be careful with issues of privacy in the everyday, concrete world. For instance, I needed to be careful not to give my address to every client. I have always liked a certain level of privacy so that I didn’t have to put up with people who wanted something out of me that I wasn’t prepared to give. Read what you will into that comment. Relationships are important and special; I don’t want to get involved with too many since then I am spread too thin to really connect with the existing people in my life. A person can only handle so many connections. I will share anecdotal information online and in person that can be of encouragement to someone, anyone. My last blog was about my wonderful father-in-law, Jack. It was heartening for me to write it, and encouraging for my husband to read it. I don’t think it will give away too much information about me. I have decided not to develop an online persona, and I hope I made the right decision. I wasn’t sure I could make it so protective that I didn’t give anything away, so why bother. Plus, I thought about all the public servants who have their information on the web as part of their job. , I don’t want to become a different person online and lose the human connections that Sherry Turkle would like us to protect (Lillie, 2012) All that being said, I have noticed since learning about internet surveillance that if I don’t clear my cache, I am targeted with certain types of ads on place like www.theweathernetwork.com. For instance, one day I was looking for local fireplace distributors. The next time I went to check the weather site, there was an ad from an online fireplace distributor. And what’s with the shoe ads? Does someone out there know I like shoes? Or is that just an advertiser’s hope to catch a middle-aged woman based on all kinds of sites visited! In light of recent news about Canada’s spying on Brazil and the associated media warnings to protect privacy, perhaps I’m being too naïve (Fodchuk, 2013). So who am I? Here’s a link to one of my favourite songs. It might not have a lot to do with online privacy and surveillance, but it speaks to who I really am. It’s a beautiful song written by Mark Hall, Who Am I. http://castingcrowns.com/music/acoustic-sessions-volume-one (Click on the play arrow to Who Am I?) (Hall) Bibliography Albrechtslund, A. (2008). Online social networking as participatory surveillance. Retrieved from First Monday; Peer reviewed journals on the internet: http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2142/1949 Fodchuk, P. (2013, October 9). How common is industrial espionage? (C. N. Andrew Nichols, Interviewer) Hall, M. (Composer). (n.d.). Who Am I? [C. Crowns, Performer] Lillie, B. (2012, March 1). Places we don't want to go: Sherry Turkle at TED2012. Retrieved from blog.ted.com: http://blog.ted.com/2012/03/01/places-we-dont-want-to-go-sherry-turkle-at-ted2012/ |