Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Creepy

I was reading an article in the WSJ about online tools that let you poke and pry into other's lives. I selected our house, and yes, it had the approximate value right (though the size of the house was wrong). And the aerial photo was right.

So I thought about my acquaintance, the Beverly Hills doctor. How much is her house worth, I wondered. So I looked.

Oh, she's in the low rent district. Its only --

Three. Million. Dollars.

My daughter says that knowing this is a bit creepy. I think she's right.

8 comments:

Lone Chatelaine said...

It's so creepy to think about what is out there about us. I google myself often...make sure my real name isn't coming up, whether it's associated with my blog or not.

Cerulean Bill said...

Well, if you looked up MY real name, you'd find many interesting people -- doctors, press barons, soccer coaches.

I'm none of the above.

So, your names not Elsie, huh? Damn... guess I'd better cancel those automated Google news alerts...

Lone Chatelaine said...

AW, man...I've really been kind of worried that people thought my name was Elsie... just like that cow :-(

Cerulean Bill said...

I suspect you look NOTHING like a cow... inside, if nothing else, and outside, probably either...

Lone Chatelaine said...

thank you, Bill :)

Cerulean Bill said...

Hey, what are friends for?

Unknown said...

Wow that is really creepy.
My internet persona is actually quite visible when you google my name. I am surprisingly comfortable with it because I do pay attention to what I attach my name to. If anything I am building myself a portfolio for the future and that is kind of cool.

Cerulean Bill said...

Shannon, nice to hear from you. I figured you were someone in the south of France, working on your tan. Let me just fetch up Google Earth....

And, of course, you didn't stop by for tango...not that I'm bitter or anything. Yes, I'm kidding.

Its good that you're aware what your name gets connected to, since apparently we spin webs of information without realizing it at all. There are times when its a good thing -- like when the cops were looking for that pedophile, and people gave bits of information that, linked together, let them put together an incredibly detailed dossier -- but of course its also scary (you've got to trust the info-keepers, and at the moment, I find that difficult at times). So, good deal.

Thought of you the other day when reading an article about a radio station that is using Twitter to do real-time information gathering and broadcast.