Difference between revisions of "John Wisniewski"
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==Public Information == | ==Public Information == | ||
| − | Not a whole lot of my information is public. I have worked very hard to make sure that my information is private (at least to outside viewers). When you look me up ("John Wisniewski") no results appear. This is mainly because there is a prominent politician that shares my name | + | Not a whole lot of my information is public. I have worked very hard to make sure that my information is private (at least to outside viewers). When you look me up ("John Wisniewski") no results appear. This is mainly because there is a prominent politician that shares my name. He looks a little bit like Joe Biden and also appears to have finished serving in the New Jersey legislature<ref>[[Wikipedia:John Wisniewski]]</ref>. |
| − | In order to actually find information about me, you have to look up my name in addition to other parameters. For instance, if you look up "John Wisniewski Umich" the first result is actually about me! | + | In order to actually find information about me, you have to look up my name in addition to other parameters. For instance, if you look up "John Wisniewski Umich" the first result is actually about me! This page is my LinkedIn page, which I will talk about in a little bit. If you look up my U of M uniquename you can see my medium posts. And if you look up my name and my home city you can access my voting records and information, which contain my address (which is scary). |
| + | |||
| + | Many public results illustrate my past involvement with sports. For instance, if you look up my name and my highschool you can access articles in the newspaper about my performances in swim meets<ref>http://www.hartlandschools.us/documents/Community%20Life/March%20CL%20Final.pdf</ref><ref>http://www.hartlandschools.us/documents/Community%20Life/2015%20Feb.pdf</ref><ref>http://www.hartlandschools.us/documents/Community%20Life/May%20CL%20Final.pdf</ref>. You can also access my 5k splits<ref>https://www.newtontiming.com/results/15/hartland/5krun.html</ref> and my mile time<ref>https://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/SchoolRecords.aspx?SchoolID=35809&Grade=8</ref>. [[File:JohnWikiLinkedin.png|thumbnail|a photo of my linkedin]]You cannot access my best 5k time though, as my coach mistakenly thought my name was "Jon" the entire time I ran cross country (highlighting the ease at which online identities can be falsified). | ||
===LinkedIn=== | ===LinkedIn=== | ||
| − | As promised | + | As promised, I felt it was important to address the premier online source of information about me: My LinkedIn profile. MY profile is pretty standard, showing my education and professional history. Honestly, I am glad this is one of the first results, mainly because it is in a situation where I control the narrative. I have added all the information and can verify it to make sure that it is correct and portrays me in an accurate manner.[[File:JohnWikiLinkedin2.png||smallpx|thumbnail|left|a photo of my LinkedIn privacy settings]] Also, My information was also available to recruiters and anyone who looks me up. |
| − | Even though I curate the information, I do not fully control how my data is used. When I created my account I did not look into the privacy settings. Now, when researching this project I have | + | Even though I curate the information, I do not fully control how my data is used. When I created my account I did not look into the privacy settings. Now, when researching this project I have noticed lots of areas where LinkedIn was using my data in ways I didn't want. For some reason when I made my account, I assumed I could trust LinkedIn with my data. However, as I will talk about later, their privacy policy is actually pretty decent. |
===Is my public identity accurate?=== | ===Is my public identity accurate?=== | ||
| − | |||
| − | Beyond simply the lack of online information | + | Despite the rather surprising amount of correct information online about me, I like to believe that the answer to this question is no. Both my first name and last name are very popular (my mom says our last name is like the polish version of "smith"), so much of the data that appears does not pertain to me. Even when you use more detailed parameters, results come up that don't pertain to me. This is a trend I saw a lot, and if you didn't know anything about me, you would have a very hard time looking me up. I often wonder how other people interpret the information they find when they search for me. Do they realize the information is from someone else? Do they think the other Wisniewskis that come up are related to me? I will never know. |
| + | |||
| + | Beyond simply the lack of online information, not a lot of what is presented portrays me in an accurate manner. No one reading the 2014 edition of the school paper I linked earlier will be surprised by this. Much of the data is old and reflects who I was in the past. I was a very different person back then: I no longer swim or run competitively and I am definitely not 14. My beliefs and interests have changed. Despite this, as much as I hate to admit it, my past is an important part of my identity today, and my online identity gives slight inclinations as to my current identity. | ||
| − | The outdated information doesn't really bother me though. What really scares me about my online identity is that my address is so readily accessible, and it is tied to a public institution that I have a legal right to engage in. I am not at high risk here: if someone finds my address it wouldn't be the worst thing to happen. However, I am very worried about people who need to protect this information | + | The outdated information doesn't really bother me though. What really scares me about my online identity is that my address is so readily accessible, and it is tied to a public institution that I have a legal right to engage in. I am not at high risk here: if someone finds my address it wouldn't be the worst thing to happen. However, I am very worried about people who need to protect this information (domestic abuse victims immediately come to mind). If you knew that your address would be displayed online after you voted, and you feared your abuser would act on this information, would you vote? Despite being public information, I feel this information can pose a (not insignificant) threat to our electoral system. How many people do you think can't vote or express their democratic voice out of fear for their safety? I would wager it is not a small number of people. |
==Private Information== | ==Private Information== | ||
[[File:JohnWikisearch.png||smallpx|thumbnail|left|a photo of the Instagram search screen. My name is entered and none of the results are me (I promise)]] | [[File:JohnWikisearch.png||smallpx|thumbnail|left|a photo of the Instagram search screen. My name is entered and none of the results are me (I promise)]] | ||
| − | Beyond my LinkedIn account, I do not really appear much online. However, this is not to say that I am not online. I have public accounts on Tik Tok, Snapchat, and Twitter: however, it is much harder to find these accounts. I also am active on Discord, Slack, YouTube, and GroupMe, | + | Beyond my LinkedIn account, I do not really appear much online. However, this is not to say that I am not online. I have public accounts on Tik Tok, Snapchat, and Twitter: however, it is much harder to find these accounts. I also am active on Discord, Slack, YouTube, and GroupMe, but it is much harder to search for individual users on these platforms. |
| − | I have attempted to look up these profiles in the respective apps, and it was hard to find them | + | I have attempted to look up these profiles in the respective apps, and it was hard to find them. Most of my profiles are anonymous or not associated directly with me. My "professional" Instagram and other social media profiles do not even show up when you search my name. This was interesting because I figured even if my account was private, people would still be able to see it: however, this is most likely not the case unless you know my exact username. I can only assume this is because I do not have a lot of followers, and I imagine if you were somewhat associated with me It might be more likely to show up. |
==Privacy Policy== | ==Privacy Policy== | ||
| − | |||
| − | Despite all this, I am more than positive my data is still being collected. I have investigated Instagram's privacy policy, and they are collecting data on me. | + | Despite all this, I am more than positive my data is still being collected. I have investigated Instagram's privacy policy, and know they are collecting data on me. This contains (and is probably not limited to) how I use the platform and also data based on my device and location<ref>https://help.instagram.com/519522125107875</ref>. [[File:JohnWikiLinkedin3.png||smallpx|thumbnail|right|the error when I attempted to research how my data is used] Instagram appears to collect a lot more information for services I have never heard of and won't ever use (which seems like a front to collect more data). It also appears my data is used to provide "insights for social good," which you can't turn off<ref>https://help.instagram.com/519522125107875</ref>. Even LinkedIn appears to have a much better privacy policy. When they generate insights, you are not identified, which is definitely an improvement over Instagram. |
| − | However, | + | However, LinkedIn isn't perfect either. LinkedIn's privacy policy is very hard to understand, and this is because they have included short summaries of the information in the policy. However, this adds excess clutter and I don't trust their summaries. I did notice they collect data from sites you were on before LinkedIn and also where you went after, which was frightening<ref>https://www.linkedin.com/legal/privacy-policy</ref>. Also, when I attempted to access my data settings on my phone, I got errors no matter how many times I tried. This is alarming, as most people view LinkedIn from their phone <ref>https://business.linkedin.com/marketing-solutions/audience</ref>. I don't know if this was intentional, but it made it much harder to see how my data is being used. |
| − | + | While researching this project, I was continually surprised at what information about my life was presented. It appears that many aspects of where I present myself online are not present, while there is a lot of information that I have not directly consented to display. I thought it was interesting how I have taken such efforts to protect my information, only to have my home address readily accessible in Google. Even my private data is still being used in ways I am not comfortable with. Moreover, in attempting to have no digital footprint, my online identity is only created by other people. | |
==References== | ==References== | ||
Revision as of 22:31, 17 February 2021
Hi! Nice to meet you, my name is John! If you wanna learn more about me feel free to read About John Wisniewski but I know you probably came to this page to read my Media Wiki essay. so buckle up and enjoy the story of my online identity. If there's one thing I've learned (and that I hope to convey) it's that I live under the illusion of data privacy.
Also, PS if you're reading rn I am going to edit this. It sounds so unpolished. anyways
Contents
Public Information
Not a whole lot of my information is public. I have worked very hard to make sure that my information is private (at least to outside viewers). When you look me up ("John Wisniewski") no results appear. This is mainly because there is a prominent politician that shares my name. He looks a little bit like Joe Biden and also appears to have finished serving in the New Jersey legislature[1].
In order to actually find information about me, you have to look up my name in addition to other parameters. For instance, if you look up "John Wisniewski Umich" the first result is actually about me! This page is my LinkedIn page, which I will talk about in a little bit. If you look up my U of M uniquename you can see my medium posts. And if you look up my name and my home city you can access my voting records and information, which contain my address (which is scary).
Many public results illustrate my past involvement with sports. For instance, if you look up my name and my highschool you can access articles in the newspaper about my performances in swim meets[2][3][4]. You can also access my 5k splits[5] and my mile time[6]. You cannot access my best 5k time though, as my coach mistakenly thought my name was "Jon" the entire time I ran cross country (highlighting the ease at which online identities can be falsified).
Even though I curate the information, I do not fully control how my data is used. When I created my account I did not look into the privacy settings. Now, when researching this project I have noticed lots of areas where LinkedIn was using my data in ways I didn't want. For some reason when I made my account, I assumed I could trust LinkedIn with my data. However, as I will talk about later, their privacy policy is actually pretty decent.
Is my public identity accurate?
Despite the rather surprising amount of correct information online about me, I like to believe that the answer to this question is no. Both my first name and last name are very popular (my mom says our last name is like the polish version of "smith"), so much of the data that appears does not pertain to me. Even when you use more detailed parameters, results come up that don't pertain to me. This is a trend I saw a lot, and if you didn't know anything about me, you would have a very hard time looking me up. I often wonder how other people interpret the information they find when they search for me. Do they realize the information is from someone else? Do they think the other Wisniewskis that come up are related to me? I will never know.
Beyond simply the lack of online information, not a lot of what is presented portrays me in an accurate manner. No one reading the 2014 edition of the school paper I linked earlier will be surprised by this. Much of the data is old and reflects who I was in the past. I was a very different person back then: I no longer swim or run competitively and I am definitely not 14. My beliefs and interests have changed. Despite this, as much as I hate to admit it, my past is an important part of my identity today, and my online identity gives slight inclinations as to my current identity.
The outdated information doesn't really bother me though. What really scares me about my online identity is that my address is so readily accessible, and it is tied to a public institution that I have a legal right to engage in. I am not at high risk here: if someone finds my address it wouldn't be the worst thing to happen. However, I am very worried about people who need to protect this information (domestic abuse victims immediately come to mind). If you knew that your address would be displayed online after you voted, and you feared your abuser would act on this information, would you vote? Despite being public information, I feel this information can pose a (not insignificant) threat to our electoral system. How many people do you think can't vote or express their democratic voice out of fear for their safety? I would wager it is not a small number of people.
Private Information
Beyond my LinkedIn account, I do not really appear much online. However, this is not to say that I am not online. I have public accounts on Tik Tok, Snapchat, and Twitter: however, it is much harder to find these accounts. I also am active on Discord, Slack, YouTube, and GroupMe, but it is much harder to search for individual users on these platforms.
I have attempted to look up these profiles in the respective apps, and it was hard to find them. Most of my profiles are anonymous or not associated directly with me. My "professional" Instagram and other social media profiles do not even show up when you search my name. This was interesting because I figured even if my account was private, people would still be able to see it: however, this is most likely not the case unless you know my exact username. I can only assume this is because I do not have a lot of followers, and I imagine if you were somewhat associated with me It might be more likely to show up.
Privacy Policy
Despite all this, I am more than positive my data is still being collected. I have investigated Instagram's privacy policy, and know they are collecting data on me. This contains (and is probably not limited to) how I use the platform and also data based on my device and location[7]. [[File:JohnWikiLinkedin3.png||smallpx|thumbnail|right|the error when I attempted to research how my data is used] Instagram appears to collect a lot more information for services I have never heard of and won't ever use (which seems like a front to collect more data). It also appears my data is used to provide "insights for social good," which you can't turn off[8]. Even LinkedIn appears to have a much better privacy policy. When they generate insights, you are not identified, which is definitely an improvement over Instagram.
However, LinkedIn isn't perfect either. LinkedIn's privacy policy is very hard to understand, and this is because they have included short summaries of the information in the policy. However, this adds excess clutter and I don't trust their summaries. I did notice they collect data from sites you were on before LinkedIn and also where you went after, which was frightening[9]. Also, when I attempted to access my data settings on my phone, I got errors no matter how many times I tried. This is alarming, as most people view LinkedIn from their phone [10]. I don't know if this was intentional, but it made it much harder to see how my data is being used.
While researching this project, I was continually surprised at what information about my life was presented. It appears that many aspects of where I present myself online are not present, while there is a lot of information that I have not directly consented to display. I thought it was interesting how I have taken such efforts to protect my information, only to have my home address readily accessible in Google. Even my private data is still being used in ways I am not comfortable with. Moreover, in attempting to have no digital footprint, my online identity is only created by other people.
References
- ↑ Wikipedia:John Wisniewski
- ↑ http://www.hartlandschools.us/documents/Community%20Life/March%20CL%20Final.pdf
- ↑ http://www.hartlandschools.us/documents/Community%20Life/2015%20Feb.pdf
- ↑ http://www.hartlandschools.us/documents/Community%20Life/May%20CL%20Final.pdf
- ↑ https://www.newtontiming.com/results/15/hartland/5krun.html
- ↑ https://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/SchoolRecords.aspx?SchoolID=35809&Grade=8
- ↑ https://help.instagram.com/519522125107875
- ↑ https://help.instagram.com/519522125107875
- ↑ https://www.linkedin.com/legal/privacy-policy
- ↑ https://business.linkedin.com/marketing-solutions/audience
