While reading Reyman's (2013) article, User Data on the Social Web: Authorship, Agency, and Appropriation, a statement jumped out at me.
"The current system for control over user data promotes the social web as a space for commercial activity, but it does not harness the power of user data for intellectual, creative or civic purposes."It occured to me to look at the data I've fed into the "system" lately, to see where my input may have placed a tick mark on some civic tally sheet, a "digital footprint scorecard", as it were. In this way, I mignt see what infinitesimal changes I might have made.
Retail clothing - I visited a catalog outlet site, to see if a shirt I've been eyeing has gone on sale yet. The shirt is 100% cotton. Tick mark for sustainable farming, I have no idea where the shirt was made, nor by whom. Tick mark for either fair or unfail labor practices.
VeDa, the Vestibular Disorders Association, a knowledge-base, resource, advocacy and support non-profit for those with balance disorders. Apparently a top-rated non-profit in 2018. This I had not known. I just thought it was a support group with useful information. Tick mark for advocacy.
Greyhound Data - database on racing greyhounds. Millions of pedigrees, millions of race results. Very pro-racing. Tick mark to a change I definately don't want to see in the world, regardless of getting Berry's pedigree.
Various retired racing greyhound Facebook groups. Mixed tick marks on pro-racing, mixed, and anti-racing groups. One tick mark for visiting a politically active anti-racing group.
A cosmetics site. Said its products were tested using anti-cuerality techniques. Ok. If they say so. One tick mark for anti-cruelity cosmetics production.
Searching Amazon Prime on the television, looking for something in a WW2 historical fiction film. One tick mark for French Resistance Groups Awareness?
On the whole, I may have had a slightly positive impact on the world, as shown on my digital scorecard. IWhile researching this little project, i found some interesting bits of information about the groups I was supporting by visiting their sites. Mostly I was pleased, but am now much more aware of what personal weight my own digital footprint might have on the world. I would prefer my foot to be supporting, not squashing it.
Photo by EVG photos from Pexels
What a neat post! All the talk this week about privacy and ethics has got me thinking about my impact as well, but I hadn't gone so far as to retrace my digital footsteps. I'll have to go through my recent browser history and see what all I've contributed to/been complicit in lately. I'd also be interested to do a sort of membership inventory to take stock of all the websites and digital tools I have an account with and do some research on the parent companies behind those resources to see who all I've been sharing my info with...things could get spooky!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reply, Liz!
DeleteI like the way that you refer to digital footprints in terms of supporting not squashing. They build on each other, one step at a time.
ReplyDelete