Songbird

I use iTunes with my iBook to manage my music. But Songbird is a good alternative. The application hasn't yet hit version 1.0, so it's not quite ready for prime time, but it looks promising and it has some neat features that other media players lack. For instance, Songbird allows you to access blogs like mine through its web browser. It automagically finds any music files and serves them up for you in a list, allowing you to play or download them. Here's hoping this idea catches on.

Online Privacy

The advent of the Internet and the explosion of online content has led some to worry about the dissolution of personal privacy. Type my name into Google and it's increasingly easy to find this blog among the results; it's even easier if you know a bit about me, like where I live. Should I be worried that a prospective employer will Google my name, see what I've written, and refuse to hire me? If so, what's the solution?

Some people adopt pseudonyms, or they post anonymously. But many others post with their real names, or they leave traces of their offline identity, which are easy to put together. Younger people, especially, seem most willing to serve up their personal information to websites like MySpace, Facebook, and personal blogs. My youngest brother, for example, maintains a personal page at Nexopia. Several months ago he challenged me to find his profile, which contains some personal information that he wanted to keep hidden from me. I found it in four minutes. I can find the same page in four seconds today.

Likewise, I'm sure anyone could do the same to me. But the costs of anonymity outweigh the benefits. If I attach my name to a post, I can be held responsible for it. I have to think before I post. It keeps me honest. Unfortunately, people say things anonymously they wouldn't say otherwise. This isn't always a good thing, as this Penny-Arcade comic amusingly illustrates.