The new U.N Privacy Chief Joseph Cannataci has called for a Geneva convention on the internet after likening modern surveillance to being “Worse than Orwell.” So I thought I’d take a look at Michael Radford’s rendition of the classic novel 1984 to investigate the parallels between this dystopian nightmare and …
The Future of Technology & Virtually Everything
Andrew Vorster is one of Meeco’s founding members. Based in London, he works as a Technology Foresight Consultant. He’s also an avid motorcycle enthusiast and self-confessed sci-fi nut. We recently had the opportunity to quiz him about about his technology predictions, his use of Meeco, the future of brand engagement and his …
Meeco Wins European Identity & Cloud Award
Last month the 9th European Identity and Cloud Conference was hosted by KuppingerCole in Munich. Founded in 2004, KuppingerCole is a global Analyst Company headquartered in Europe focusing on Information Security and Identity and Access Management (IAM). The EIC Conference brings together thought leaders from around the globe, focussed on the increasing challenges …
Stretching Minds to Rethink, Rewire and Relate with Annalie Killian
Annalie Killian brings a little bit of magic to just about everything she does. As the founder and curator of Amplify, AMP’s biannual celebration of learning and creativity, she has been finding innovative ways to inspire corporate employees since she created Amplify in 2005. When she’s not Amplifying, she is …
Wearables at Work: The Challenges & the Opportunities
With research estimating that at least 13 million wearable devices will be integrated into employee wellness schemes by 2018, the various opportunities for wearables within the enterprise are quickly becoming a reality. The broader industry outlook is also very positive, with an estimated CAGR of 25.38% between now and 2019. This presents …
Millennials and Generally Naughty Internet Behavior
An Australian survey published by Latrobe University reported that almost 50% out of 2000 year 12 students had sex before leaving high school. Of that figure, more than half reported sending naughty nudes to each other. In the U.K a study revealed that teenage girls were twice as susceptible to …
The Data on Data Brokers
Wilfried N’Guessman, Jonathan Svärdh and Stefan Normann are Digital Data Strategy students at Hyper Island, Stolkholm. They have a shared interest in the collection of data and its impacts on humanity. For a recent project, they set about to uncover ‘the hidden truths of connectivity’ on the internet and visualise it in an interesting and …
Podcast: Retaining Ownership of Your Personal Data
Recently I had the pleasure of catching up with the lovely Denise Holt from Collaborative IQ. Denise is the CMO & Co-Founder, GratZeez, Inc. & CEO & Founder, Collaborative IQ and the host of the Collaborative IQ Podcast. A serial Entrepreneur since age 23, she has co-founded and operated businesses ranging from local service …
Privacy & Quantifying the Real Cost of ‘Free’
Lysanne de Water is a graphic design student at the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam. For her data design minor she chose to focus on the subject of ‘Internet: Censorship, Privacy and Human Rights’. She researched twelve digital platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Ello and Meeco to examine each service’s level of transparency, privacy and use of …
U.S. Passes the Buck to Parents on Children’s Education Data Protection
On February 26, the U.S. Department of Education launched the ‘Privacy Technical Assistance Center’ (PTAC), a website designed to act as a “One-stop resource for education stakeholders to learn about data privacy, confidentiality, and security practices related to student-level longitudinal data systems and other uses of student data.” This is the first …
#IoB: The Internet of Babies
Parents across the Internet are following a trend of (practically) live streaming their children’s pre-birth on Facebook, Skype and YouTube. Ultra sounds and updates of their babies health are also finding themselves flung into the digital sphere with the help of apps designed to track the growth of their soon-to-be’s…
The day I realised my personal data was no longer mine
I am looking to stay at a boutique hotel in New York’s West Village, I am also apparently looking for a home loan, I compulsively read the Guardian news website and I am addicted to Instagram. Based on this information, what type of image could you build up of me? …
Futurist Gerd Leonard Predicts Humanity is at a Tipping Point
I was fortunate enough to attend the ACCAN National Conference in Sydney recently to hear the compelling vision of futurist Gerd Leonard in his talk “The future of connectivity and consumer rights”. This was followed by a hearty discussion on “The Privacy Catch” including Meeco CEO, Katryna Dow. The Formalities …
Are your digital decisions disadvantaging your children?
This is the backstory to my experience leading up to the Meeco launch, along with my view of the passion and energy that went into making Meeco possible. It is also the story about the digital birth of a baby boy who has been born at pivotal moment in history …
The Arrival of Calm Technology
A lot has changed in the past twenty years. It wasn’t that long ago that the most intrusive technologies in our lives consisted of the home telephone and direct marketing. These invasions of our privacy were easily curbed by even simpler tech solutions: the answering machine and a “no junk …
The War for Your Privacy
In the eyes of some, there is a raging battle for the privacy of the consumer Internet. In fact, The Guardian recently wrote that in the era of big data, the battle for privacy had already been fought and lost. I argued this point on LinkedIn recently, and made a …
A Tide in the Affairs of Me – Now is that Time
On this first day of June, with only weeks away to the global launch of Respect Network and Meeco, it seemed apt to pause and hit the reset button. My dear friend and great support Stephen Turner recently shared this great Shakespeare quote with me, as one of his supporters …
How much am I worth to the Internet?
As a nineteen year old University student, the biggest issue I face when it comes to data privacy, is trying to evade the prying eyes of my mum in such a way so as not to hurt her feelings by de-friending her (sorry mum). So when it was suggested that …
The Surveillance Economy
The term ‘surveillance economy’ came up a lot during my recent USA visit, so I started to do some research. Over the coming weeks I’ll share more on the links between surveillance and the economy it generates. Just how much of our day-to-day life is under some kind of surveillance? What …
Our data is our digital identity and we need to reclaim control
Our digital identity is at the mercy of the corporations and governments and we are giving it away freely. Watch the exclusive video edit for the Guardian. Consider the questions raised by Michael Moritz in The Data Factory. What do we ‘own’, what do we ‘agree’ to every day? What freedom are …