It seems we can't use any online service or app without first linking to a Facebook or Linkedin page. This is very suspicious, that we joined Facebook as a way to keep up socially with family and friends, but now it has morphed into a centalized system for conducting every aspect of our lives, including making online purchases and paying bills. Were we duped into joining Facebook for the purposes of government monitoring? Was this the plan for online social media all along?

9:56 AM

This situation is very true, and I even see further monitoring by the increased used of credit cards.. Let me go into this a little more.

I see the government in a touch situation.  They want to know the trends of the people, and a way to monitor them without it feeling "forced." I actually see a group officials sitting around a round table discussing how to extract information and profile people, but make it look like it was their idea, and the people agreed to it.  Then I get a flash of the movie Terms and Conditions May Apply, in which people check mark the terms and conditions box on apps and other items, without really knowing what they have agree too.  The print on these terms is so small and the wording is so long, realistically most people have no idea what it says or what rights you are giving away.  Then I hear a phrase saying something like "I challenge you to read what these terms really are."

I also hear further discussions about if we phase this into the social media, it will soon be accepted, and further generations won't question it, they will check mark the "I agree to conditions " box and move along. Our society will be come numb to it eventually, and all the while our personal information is acquired.

I also see the big push for credit cards to work in the same manor.  They may not know what exactly you buy (yet) but they know where and how often you shop.  The more credit cards that are out there (for our convenience...) the more they can extract about our spending trends, and how much you are spending.

Q. Then I ask, What are they doing with all this information?
A.  The big push now by small groups affiliated with Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, Amazon etc is marketing.  I see people under the illusion that these places are secure.  The image I see is someone buying and shopping for something on Amazon.  They research, read
reviews, etc.  They put the item in their virtual shopping cart to just think about the purchase for later (haven't made up their mind.) Then they go to a totally different site to read the news, and all of a sudden there is a pop-up for the item they recently researched on Amazon.  They have a stunned look on their face as if it is a magic trick, but in reality it is your information that is being harvested as you search these sites that you are personally logged on to.  I see this marketing tactic working all the time.

With regards to the government.  I see tons and tons of data piling in.  They aren't exactly sure what they are doing with it all yet.  I do get there are phrases or key words that bring information forward for review (threats, people of interest, etc), but for the most part this stuff is just sitting there.  It feels more like an insurance that they can pull up if need be, but I don't see a lot being done with it yet.  It feels like it is for a future plan that is yet to be developed and that is why the "terms and conditions" are so open ended and nonspecific.

Thank you.  It is 10:13 AM.