A Matter of Privacy

Dirty Little Secrets and Their URL'S

I am posting this in full with a link because it is so interesting:

AskEraser: Privacy Potential by Greg R. Notess Posted On January 3, 2008

As web searching becomes ever more common in all aspects of our lives, the issue of our online privacy, or lack thereof, is an increasing concern. Searches and visits can be, and usually are, tracked and logged by any website. The information recorded can include a user’s IP address, the previous URL visited, the browser and operating system used, information in cookies set by that site, and search terms used. While none of this information can necessarily identify a specific user, the August 2006 release of AOL search data (see the NewsBreak at http://newsbreaks.infotoday.com/nbreader.asp?ArticleID=17374) showed that some personally identifiable information may be extracted from just a series of search queries.
On Dec. 11, 2007, Ask.com (http://www.ask.com/) introduced AskEraser as one way to help combat concerns with searching privacy. It gives searchers the ability to choose whether or not to preserve their own privacy when searching Ask. By default, it is not turned on, but the AskEraser link is featured in the upper right-hand corner of Ask pages. Users can click that link for the option to turn AskEraser on. AskEraser is available on the main U.S. Ask.com site and at the U.K. version (http://www.uk.ask.com/).


While most search engines (including Ask) have previously stated that they will not keep search log data for longer than 18 months, AskEraser gives users the ability to have their data deleted sooner than that. Patrick Crisp, a spokesman for Ask.com, said that "with AskEraser, we’re in a very real sense laying down a strong industry ‘marker’ that we expect others will follow."

With AskEraser turned on, all Ask cookies are deleted from the browser and one new cookie is set, which only tells Ask that AskEraser is enabled. "Within hours" of a search being run, AskEraser promises that the search activity will be deleted from its log files. Once that deletion has occurred, Ask no longer has any record of those specific searches. The information deleted includes the following:

The IP address of the computer being used
Cookies containing user ID or session ID information
The text of the search query
Older search activity from before the launch of AskEraser or from searches run without an enabled AskEraser will be retained in the logs for 18 months after the search was run.

This is not a simple process. Note that since the concept was first announced in July (www.irconnect.com/askj/pages/news_releases.html?d=123324), it took Ask months to implement it. Part of the difficulty is that logs are automatically recorded for all searches, and getting specific search activity deleted requires additional actions from the search company. This is also why the deletion from the log files takes several hours and does not happen right away.


The Exceptions
Of course, there are exceptions. By no means does AskEraser create a completely anonymous web browsing session. All other servers beyond Ask’s can still track visit information. In addition, some information is passed to Ask’s advertising partner, Google, so that the text ads displayed are connected to the search query.


At first glance, this seems to defeat the whole purpose of deletion of search activity. If Ask deletes it but has to pass all of that information to Google’s ad servers, what privacy is gained? The difference is that all of the information that Ask would gather is not necessarily passed on to the Google ad servers. Unfortunately, Ask cannot comment on the specifics of which data is transmitted to Google. Even so, it is obvious that it would need to pass the query itself to be able to get ads connected with the query keywords. It also seems unlikely that there would need to be any passing of IP address or cookie information. Until either Google or Ask is willing to release more information about what data is passed, users should probably assume that Google ad servers are gathering at least some level of data, but not necessarily more than that which would be gathered from visiting any site that displays Google ads.


Two other unusual exceptions that Ask mentions in its About AskEraser page (http://sp.ask.com/en/docs/about/askeraser.shtml) are for critical technical issues and for a legal request from law enforcement. In the event that search activity data is need "to solve a critical technical issue … search activity data may be retained for a longer period. At the time of technical resolution all search activity data of AskEraser users that was retained will be deleted." As to the legal requirements, "even when Ask Eraser is enabled, we may store your search activity data if so requested by law enforcement or legal authority pursuant to due process." Both of these situations could occur at any other website. At least Ask is upfront about stating the possible exceptions.


AskEraser has also been criticized by the Electronic Privacy Information Center and other privacy advocates (see www.epic.org/privacy/ask/EPIC_%20AskEraser.pdf) for several perceived flaws, which the groups see as correctable. The complaints include the use of a cookie to keep AskEraser enabled and the inclusion of a time stamp within that cookie. Also, in the exceptions for court-requested tracking, Ask should alert that user that AskEraser is not functioning.


One other cookie-related issue relates to Ask users outside of the U.S. and the U.K. Such users can go into the Ask preferences to specify that they wish to use Ask.com rather than another international version, but if they then turn on AskEraser, it will erase the cookie that remembers that preference. So, AskEraser does not appear to be easily available to those users until it is enabled on the other international sites.


The Privacy Alternative

The recent emphasis from several search engines on searcher privacy in the last few years is in contrast to the opposite recent emphasis on search histories and personalized search. Ask introduced MyJeeves (now known as MyStuff) in September 2004 (http://newsbreaks.infotoday.com/nbreader.asp?ArticleID=16364). Other search engines soon followed (http://newsbreaks.infotoday.com/nbreader.asp?ArticleID=16219) with a variety of search history features.


No numbers are available for the percentage of searchers who log in and enable the tracking of their search histories. Nor is Ask sharing any numbers of active AskEraser users. Based on the time that each system has been available, it is likely that many more searchers use Ask’s MyStuff than AskEraser. Crisp notes that Ask is "happy with the usage of MyStuff" and that it "know[s] that users who are using it really love it."


AskEraser and MyStuff demonstrate how a search engine can offer users options in both directions. Those who wish to have more information tracked and recorded for their own use can log in, enable MyStuff, and be able to view their own prior searchers. For those more concerned with privacy, "AskEraser is designed for that subset of our users who would like more control over their data," says Crisp.For searchers who have personal or business reasons to keep their searching as private as possible, AskEraser offers a tool to help keep such information out of search engine logs. While it does not yet offer full anonymity of searching, it is one more new attempt to give users more choices in protecting their online privacy.

Greg R. Notess is the internet columnist for ONLINE and the author of Teaching Web Search Skills (www.notess.com/teaching) and SearchEngineShowdown.com.

Clearly there is no such thing as total privacy today. I am not suspicious by nature so I do not fear people knowing my online activity. It is quite tedious. Between my occasional gaming, online reading of library topics, and visits to Amazon and Ebay, I would not be the fodder of scandal sheets. I do represent information however. I am a consumer of goods. I am an information consumer too. Google likes to follow trends, so I am a water molecule in the bucket, so to speak.

There are two basic kinds of search engines.

The first are web crawlers. Google is the most successful of these. Each time a site is visited your IP address is recorded along with recent history of others sites visited. Google has a series of programs that gather this information from sites and records the trends. It has a listing based on the sites use. The more the sight is visited the higher it is on the results list, or indexes. When you or I uses Google we type in search terms that are used to pull up files (sites, that is their URL'S).he Its kind of a hit or miss. It is a crude way of getting results at times however. Tens of thousands of sites are ordered according to their popularity, and based on the terms you put in.

The other big kind of search index is a directory that is based on human indexing. Squidoo is a good example of this, as well as Stumble Upon. A site owner enters a description of the site and its content. Listing means nothing. What is important is the description of it. Sites that are well designed and have excellent info that is updated on a regular basis often get reviews of it and thus better coverage.

There are also sites that use a combination of these techniques. This was very common in early search engines. For more information on search engines and how they work, I have provided some extra links below.

Privacy may be better thought of as a contract. When we log on through a provider we are agreeing to its terms of use. When we visit a site the same applies. By my way of thinking it is absurd to think that we can enjoy the same level of privacy that we do in our homes. When I was a kid I had a brother and sisters. The only privacy I ever got was in the bathroom. I also think that as Americans, we have a rather inflated concept of human rights at times. We live in what is defined as a democratic state. The truth, however is not so black and white. Like the privacy matter we have shades of rights, and with that many responsibilities. What attracts me most to public libraries (my chosen field) is that they depend on democratic principles to operate in the interest of the public. This of course does not mean we can offer our patrons everything they ask for. That is impossible. The same is true of the Internet.

As the article above suggests, we can afford levels of privacy, but invisibility is not one of them. Its in the contract. And that is the way it is. It is left for you decide, and live with the choices you make.

Any thoughts?

http://newsbreaks.infotoday.com/nbReader.asp?ArticleId=40526

http://searchenginewatch.com/showPage.html?page=2168031

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/search-engine.htm

http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Internet/2003/HowWebSearchEnginesWork.asp

http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/SearchEngines.html

Email Greg R. Notess

Me Read Big Book One Day

America’s Most Literate Cities, 2007

The Top Ten

1. Minneapolis, MN
2. Seattle, WA
3. St. Paul, MN
4. Denver, CO
5.Washington, DC
6. St. Louis, MO
7. San Francisco, CA
8. Atlanta, GA
9. Pittsburgh, PA
10. Boston, MA

Drawing from a variety of available data resources, the America’s Most Literate Cities study ranks the 69 largest cities (population 250,000 and above) in the United States. This study focuses on six key indicators of literacy: newspaper circulation, number of bookstores, library resources, periodical publishing resources, educational attainment, and Internet resources. The original study was published online in 2003 at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. A link to the 2004 rankings is provided here. The 2005 rankings were published online at Central Connecticut State University and are accessible here. The 2006 rankings are here.

Dr. John W. Miller, president of Central Connecticut State University, is the author of this study. Research for this edition of AMLC was conducted in collaboration with the Center for Public Policy and Social Research at CCSU

I must admit that my heart skipped a beat after reading this. How often have I sworn that I would put down that TV remote and pick up (from a growing stack of books near my bed) what I had lied about reading in conversation with someone. Yes, I know! Reading is for learning, not for impressing.

Then I paused. I considered the population of these cities. Larger cities such as New York, L.A. and my town (Chicago) are not even mentioned. Could it be that the numbers are so low, or where they even gathered? I then thought of how the sources of information were gathered, that is the industries. Data was gathered from Booksellers; Educational attainment; Internet Resources; Library Resources; Newspaper Circulation; and Periodical publications.

OK, most of these are sources which report sales. The only other is educational attainment.

OK say that again?

Methodology:

Selection of Cities for Inclusion Cities were selected based on their 2005 U.S. Census population figures. The study was limited to those cities with a population of 250,000 or larger.

OK

Newspaper Data:

For the newspaper database, the daily and Sunday circulation figures for the March 2006 reporting period from the Publisher’s Statements were obtained from the Audit Bureau of Circulation website (http://www.accessabc.com/).

Internet Data Figures

For the Internet accessibility database were obtained from Intel Corporation’s 3rd Annual "Most Unwired Cities" survey, which ranks the top 100 U.S. cities and regions for the greatest wireless Internet accessibility.


Magazines and Journals

Data Figures for this database were gathered from the web edition of the National Directory of Magazines (2004-2005) for magazines and the Standard Periodical Directory (2005) for journals through the www.MediaFinder.com website of Oxbridge Communications. Only those journals with a total circulation of 500 or more were included, and only those magazines with a total circulation of 2,500 or more were included.

Booksellers and Stores Data

For this database, information was gathered from the U.S. Census Bureau website (http://www.census.gov (2005 population)), as well as Yellow Pages, Inc. (http://www.yellowpagesinc.com (2006)) for information on retail, rare, and used booksellers. Also, the American Booksellers Association site (http://www.bookweb.org (2006)) was used for independent bookseller information.

Educational Attainment Data

For this database, information was gathered from the U.S. Census Bureau’s “American Factfinder” website (http://factfinder.census.gov), specifically from the results of the American Community Survey, 2005.

Political Affiliation and Literacy:

The data on 2004 presidential voter preferences was provided by Jason Alderman of The Bay Area Center for Voting Research in conjunction with the BACVR’s “The Most Conservative and Liberal Cities in the United States” study. According to Alderman, “The goal of this research was to rank America’s most liberal and conservative cities based on the voting returns of the 2004 United States presidential election.


And Finally:

Library Data:

Information regarding library staff per capita, volumes per capita, circulation per capita, and branches per capita were gleaned from National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) database, specifically the “Library Statistics Program” and its “Public Libraries Survey FY2004.”


So why are the most populous cities not in the top 10? Are we too busy to read? Too tired to drag the kids to the library? Are we on line but looking at porn, not reading the Op/Ed page of the New York Times, or downloading e-books at least? Are large numbers of children and poor still lagging behind despite the efforts of No Child Left Behind?


Yet what is the quality of reading materials in the reported "most literate" urban centers? I see people reading. However, is it enough? Shouldn't Mayor Daley of Chicago find this bothersome? After all, the city is pouring millions of tax dollars into the public library system here in Chicago. Are we doing the best we can to market the library then?

I just have so many damn questions about this. It disturbs me that Chicago, New York, and L.A. don't even make the bottom of the top 10 list.

From a related article in the Science Codex I find:

This is the fifth year the study has been conducted, and its author, Central Connecticut State University President Dr. Jack Miller, reports that his research also substantiates recent studies (such as the National Endowment for the Arts’ To Read or Not to Read) indicating that Americans are reading less and reading less well.

In an overview statement, Dr. Miller notes the growing concern for the decline in Americans’ reading habits and abilities. His review of five years of data shows that as Americans have become more educated, they are reading less: newspapers are disappearing and the numbers for bookstores per capita are decreasing. Yet there are bright spots in this disturbing trend: magazines have proliferated broadly, online reading has increased substantially, and libraries are holding their own.

Dr. Miller’s sources include U.S. Census data, audited newspaper circulation rates, and information on magazine publishing, educational attainment levels, library resources, and booksellers. The information is compared against population rates in each city to develop a per capita profile of the city’s long-term literacy practices and resources.

Yes, I am glad that libraries are stable, but the fact of quality and quantity is disturbing. This is very upsetting. Its a steady decline. Despite efforts are we losing the battle?

And what is the correlation between education levels and reading less? Shouldn't that be the opposite? And what is that saying about our education system? See more questions. By my reasoning, limited I confess, it would mean more reading if folks were more educated.

Could there be a misreading of the stats here?

Any thoughts?



http://www.ccsu.edu/AMLC07/Default.htm

http://www.ccsu.edu/AMLC06/Methodology.htm

http://www.sciencecodex.com/list_most_literate_cities_in_america

Keeping It Safe

What Would You Do?

A Misplacement of Vigilance
Posted January 5th, 2008 by Great Western Dragon

An interesting editorial from Atlanta talks about the policies of the Atlanta Fulton County Public Library when it comes to adults using the children's area of the library. Apparently it's against policy for an adult to be in the children's section if they're not with a child. In an age of seeming rampant pedophilia, that makes sense, at least on the face of it.

But I think a library staff member at AFCPL said it best in the article when she explained that the policy is backwards. The library shouldn't prohibit adults without kids, rather they should prohibit kids without adults.

This is a tricky one. Growing up in a small town we (my brothers and sisters and I included) were left to roam free. It was believed the most dangerous thing in a library was our own destructive force (kids are messy).

But there is a great threat to children's safety on the web and in public places. Most libraries struggle to keep running and when staff and security is cut due to budget problems, well...Should the library be responsible?

I say no. But then I have no children. I have not had to suffer the worries and strife that most parents must deal with day to day. Most households are places where two incomes are needed to support the family. Children are left wide open to all sorts of dangers...drugs, perverts, and other criminal influences. But still, even when my parents were out they took our actions (those of my own and my brother and sisters) as reflecting on them. They looked out for us and taught us right and wrong.

Is it unreasonable to forbid adults without children in the children's library? Yes, I believe so. Yet then again I have no children or interest in going into the children's section. I have everything in the adult section.

However, it is completely normal for parents to be suspicious of strangers being around there children. In fact I would worry that a parent would not show concern. In a confusing setting with children running around I can see where something horrible could happen. An over tasked librarian or clerk could tragically miss witnessing a crime or be unaware of it as it is happening. Keep in mind, as well, that librarians are not trained as security guards.

So what is the answer?

1. Parents should accompany their children in public places.
2. Parents should teach their children never to speak or trust strangers. If a child is approached by a stranger that child should run and find the nearest authority figure.
3. Library's must not ever assume legal responsibility for the welfare of children. Administrators must do their best to cover the basics.

If a child is found alone that child must be removed to a place of safety until the child's parent or guardian can be located.

So the policy should be: no children should be allowed alone in the library.

Any thoughts?

http://www.lisnews.org/

A Good Idea?

More Law or Better Classes?

New legislation is now in Congress concerning intellectual property. PRO-IP which is an acronym for "Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property", may substantially reshape copyright and how the rights of creators are fought for, along with possibly changing how the public gets its information.

Behind this legislation is the aim to crack down on infringement of works copyrighted and otherwise to aid in the following:

1. Stricter penalties for criminal and civil infringement.
2. Elimination of registration requirement to pursue criminal penalties.
3. Create an independent branch of government from the
White House with more authority to go after offenders.

I am including a link below to the full story. I think it is in every ones interest to take this matter very seriously.

It could have long range implications in concerns with the Internet, libraries, schools, and anyone who is in a class of information consumers who could struggle with additional cost to access information.

I am all for looking out for the rights of artists, authors, their publishers, and so on... My concern is that we may widen the information gap that technology has been closing by making so much available on line for free. This should be proceeded with caution in my opinion.

Any thoughts?

The link:


http://newsbreaks.infotoday.com/nbReader.asp?ArticleId=40519

Web 2.0

Consolidating Scholarship

Cheaper monographs?

New Collaboration for Scholarly Publishing
Posted January 1st, 2008 by Blake

Electronic Publications
Publishing
New Collaboration for Scholarly Publishing Five university presses have announced a collaboration that seeks to find a way to reduce costs of scholarly publishing and to allow more books to be released. The collaboration, created with funds from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, will set up a joint operation for copy editing, design, layout and typesetting for the work in American literatures. The presses will retain complete control over book selection and distribution.

Its not clear from this that the saving will translate in savings for libraries. For years university presses have struggled to keep open. It was never a big profit line venture certainly. A collaboration or consortium or whatever the contracts state will be a benefit in a long run anyway to most libraries. It is a fantastic solution. When an organization joins a larger funding group it enjoys the benefits.

It will be interesting to see what happens with this. Lots of people still talk about the death of books still. But like most it is impossible for me to conceive of my life without them.

Any thoughts?

Here is my source for this news:


http://www.lisnews.org/node/28696

Public Libraries Open Gates for Librarians Too

Wow! This is Great!

Threatened by the Internet? Music Biz Should Rock Like Librarians
Written by Marshall Kirkpatrick

December 31, 2007 10:48 AM

At the risk of jinxing things - I think it's pretty clear that there's a historic shift underway between activities we used to engage in offline and things we now do online. It's no surprise, for example, that CD sales were down 20% this US holiday season while online shopping was up 19%. That's how it works, right? People are moving from one marketplace to another, more virtual one.

Another dataset released this weekend, however, paints a more complex picture. According to the newest study from the Pew Internet and American Life Center - the youngest, most affluent and most Internet-connected adults in the US are also the most likely to visit a physical library. It wasn't that way just 10 years ago. How many other legacy industries can you think of today that can say their strongest growth is among young, affluent, power-Internet users? Something is going very right in library land. The music business ought to pay close attention to what's going on there.

As many librarians (and perhaps the most savvy people in the music business) can tell you, the Internet does not have to replace offline activities one-to-one, as a zero-sum game. Both planes, if you will, can provide essential value ads to each other - and thus "make the pie higher," as they say.

The Pew study found that 62 percent of Americans aged 18-30 are active library users, the percentage drops sharply at age 50 and falls to 32 percent of those 72 and up. Library use is highest, the study found, among young people who have Internet access at home. Just a handful of years ago it was widely believed that home Internet access would be the death of the public library.

Well, there it is! Everyone talks about the death of the American public library, but this and other recent surveys have demonstrated a need for a meeting place of sorts to continue their life long learning.

Granted, the numbers can stand improvement. This is especially true of seniors, who's participation drops as they reach well into their 70's. Also, if one considers that people are living longer or are expected to, then the public library has many profiles to market to.

It is amazing that even with Internet access in the home, the average 18-30 something still found visiting their local public library a must in their busy schedule. Yeah! Now lets reel them in. Their concerns are both family oriented and technologically riding the next wave of communication and information exchanges.

I am reminding anyone interested in the solid advice of Michael Stephens, whom I quoted earlier in the post "Tech Trends":

So here's this year's list, with a new name: "Trends" instead of "Things." Sure it puts a finer point on it but it also recognizes the changes in my thinking about the essential duties of librarians:

-Learn to Learn
-Adapt to Change
-Scan the Horizon

As we carry out or essential mission of service, stewardship and access, I really want folks in libraries to be able to watch the horizon for trends -- and I told the group that in Toronto: "We can all be trendspotters. We can all watch for trends that impact not only the profession but our specific communities and user groups." Please ponder these and let me know what you think.

1. (Learn to Learn) Listen to what patrons say about the library. Their perceptions of the service and resources we provide are vital to the libraries effectiveness. (Without which it wouldn't publicly exist.) Learn from these active home makers and career oriented patrons. They contribute to local tax bases, they vote, they want us to be on their side whenever they drop by. We should be grateful for it. And I know anyone reading this is concerned about how technology is changing the way we converge, communicate and create these opportunities. It is an ongoing process like any ongoing continued education. We are becoming librarians all over each time we encounter a patron.

2. (Adapt to Change) This is my favorite. For personal reasons, however. I am a Buddhist, and am used to hearing the droning bell of suffering and attachment. As long as we cling to a tradition in the face of what comes, we are moving away from a productive mission of service. (A) We can no longer go back to the card catalog and to a time when bibliographic standards ruled the cosmos of information. (B) Rubrics of MARC tags and LC classification held us in static hold, we must accept what I heard one librarian describe as a kind of "kangaroo court". The Internet does seem to resemble a kind of mock indexing of everything that is tossed into the mix. If one considers how social software has impacted on public spaces, and the general freedom that results, it is a scary place at times. But that is no reason to think that we are not needed. Exactly the opposite. We have never been needed more. We are in a flux of change, a beta mode because of the speed at which information is exchanged. Science moves faster, technology moves faster and faster, and tools are replaced by other tools before a second generation even comes out. Habituation is like death.

(Scan the Horizon) It is out there now. On the web and in libraries. The changes are occurring as I type this. Quite exciting. Open oneself to the experience of strange and unfamiliar service orientations, priority is on the development of or growth out of our hobgoblins of fixation and classification.

A. It is a Conversation. (Library 2.0) It becomes open ended. The endless stream is unfixed in print senses completely. It is about expansion (organically speaking) of the flow of exchanges. People want to talk. There are countless new ways to do it in and at a pace like never before.

B. It is a Convergence. Stephens points out that it is the process, not the endpoint that matters.
He further borrows the following: This altered relationship privileges 'expressions' over 'impressions'; engaged consumers draw together information across multiple media experiences...This explosion of exchange is all about itself and less about end results that define a consumer. A person is Googling, for example. I have a friend who is a fellow "YouTuber". I have the new phone, I am connected...but its not like saying: "I am." It is saying: "I do." It is about the changing consumer flows that challenge industries and information outlets

C. It is a Content. Next Stephens borrows from a report of the "New Media Consortium". In it trends of audience consumption finds: User-Created Content. It’s all about the audience, and the “audience” is no longer merely listening. User-created content is all around us, from blogs and photostreams to wikibooks and machinima clips. See?

D. LIS Jobs Redefined. The following considering the exchange of information and user centered service: Libraries may want to evaluate and redefine certain jobs as we move more and more into a user-centered, user-driven environment, in which primary duties may include creating online tools for collaboration and creation, developing innovative programs, and serving as instructors and "strategy guides" for users. I simplify here: but they include the building of structures for users and professionals, and following that they develop electronic resources a rapidly developing information environment.

This briefly touches on a much more meaningful and cogent discussion of information trends than can be afforded here. I hope this will be interesting to anyone reading. The article that prompted this post is evidence that our opportunities are open. We need only be open to them.

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/libraries-rock.php

http://tametheweb.com/2007/03/ten_tech_trends_for_librarians_1.html