One of my favorite sources of information about Internet usage is the Pew Internet & American Life Project. Their latest report is "Digital Footprints: online identity management and search in the age of transparency." Although I have a few quibbles about some of the survey questions, it's a good study, looking at how aware people are about their personal information on the web. Interestingly, 60% of adults do not feel compelled to limit how much information can be found about them online - of these, most fall into the category of "Unfazed and Inactive" - they don't worry about their person info nor do they take steps to limit the amount of info that can be found about them online. And more than half of adult Internet users have looked for other people - friends, family, colleagues, possible dates - on the web.
I was interviewed as an industry analyst for this study, although most of my priceless pearls of wisdom landed on the cutting room floor...
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