Global POV: At the Intersection of Technology and Culture

Who cares about privacy?

by David Holtzman

I published "Privacy Lost" over a year ago. In that time, I've been interviewed a lot, done a lot of radio and several college lectures and talks. The book never hit the wider audience that I'd intended. Some of that was because of incredibly bad sales support from the publisher (the book was miscategorized as an almanac), but ultimately, I think that it found its audience, such as it is.

Many people simply do not care about privacy, or put another way, don't feel that it's something to worry about. Here's some observations from my experience:

1. Politicians don't care at all
   
2. The right wing cares more than the left wing
   
3. Religous people, especially evangelicals, seem to care a lot
   
4. There is definitely a generational issue--Baby boomers care, Gen X is ambiguous, Gen Y doesn't even buy into the idea that its a problem
   

I'm thinking about writing a book about the generational differences and how the different age groups relate to privacy, security and intellectual property. I would appreciate anyone's feedback.

Posted on March 25, 2008

The future of privacy

by David Holtzman

In my book, Privacy Lost, I devoted a good bit of time discussing why I think that privacy as we know it is doomed. The main argument is that the nature of digital information is such that data never really goes away and even worse, that it becomes consolidated, at least from a search perspective. So, more and more information is available on each of us every year. And it's not just new information, but older stuff that's recently become digitized. Old records (financial, educational, medical, legal) are showing up digitally. You may not think that specialized and "confidential" information will be accessible, but you'd be wrong. Everything is potentially searchable.

So how do you maintain your privacy? Do you just give up?

Never give up. There are 3 things that you can do:

1) Fight back. Stop making it easier on them by giving out your social security number, phone number or anything else that simplifies the data base work.

2) Use pseudonyms online. There's absolutely no reason to use your real information anywhere short of buying something with a credit card. Establish a couple of good identities know and build your reputation. Someday reputation will be the prime currency in online worlds.

3) Let your elected leaders know that you care about your privacy. Privacy support has never been an issue in a political campaign, let alone a litmus test. Perhaps it's time.

Posted on February 27, 2007

Selling a book

by David Holtzman

I received a couple of boxes in the mail yesterday--early copies of Privacy Lost, How Technology is Endangering Your Privacy, my new (and first) book. Amazon will be shipping in a few days and the books will be available in bookstores next week.

Non-fiction books are a lot harder than I thought to sell, write and market. Actually of the three, writing it was the easiest.

For anyone considering it, the first step is to get an agent. That's difficult if you're unknown, because agents only make money when you do and they might have to put in years of work for free before you sell anything. It helps if a mutual acquaintance introduces you, but I know several people that have cold-called agents and been successful over time. I was very lucky to be introduced to Grace Freedson, who worked diligently at selling my book and in fact, did so.

Then you need a proposal. This is a 10-30 page marketing document in which you explain the book from the perspective of why someone would spend $25 or so for it. Expect to do a little competitive research. I did. It's the writer's job to convince the publisher that the product will move out the door. At this stage, you are discussing a commodity and using the language of sales. Your book's content is less important than its financial prospects.

Then the fun begins. Your agent ships the proposal out and schmoozes perspective buyers. It took about a year and a half to sell Privacy Lost. Part of it was the political climate. Some publishers were nervous about being openly critical of the Bush Administration for awhile (that's changed, of course).

Someone in the publishing house needs to believe in what you're writing or it has to be a cold-bloodedly obvious well-selling entry. I was lucky enough to have my book championed by Dorothy Hearst at Josey-Bass (Wiley & Sons).

The contract negotiation was simple because as a first-time writer you have no clout at all. I argued about the amount of the advance for a few minutes, but only because I thought that it was what I had to pay them.

Tomorrow -- writing.

Posted on October 05, 2006

Ted Koppel special on Discovery Channel

by David Holtzman

Koppel is airing a special show on Sunday, the 10th, at 8:00 on the Discovery Channel called The Price of Security, talking about the tradeoff between civil liberties and security since 9/11. I'll be one of the guests.

A description of the show is here.

Posted on September 07, 2006