243) Privacy Mode

It's no secret that technology is getting more predictive. Our mobile phones are like little GPS devices that we happily carry around with us at all times. More and more we are asked whether we want to check in to a certain location (or are automatically checked in), offered suggestions of eateries nearby that we might like. Online, the ads we see are tied to our search terms, email content, etc. I saw a video a couple weeks ago about Nokia Situations (see above), an application that senses where you are, and automatically changes your settings accordingly.

Why can't there then, be a parallel path of technologies that are developed to protect our privacy? Like, what if you could put your cell phone into "Privacy Mode" in which all incoming geo-location pings are blocked? Online we have some rudimentary privacy mode offerings, but it's always associated with unsavory behavior (privacy mode is often referred to as, "porn mode").

Google CEO Eric Schmidt once said in a CNBC interview with regards to online privacy, "If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place." But it's not about not wanting people to know what embarrassing, disgusting or illegal activity you're engaging in on the Internet. It's about having the choice to control your level of privacy during any Internet activity, harmless or otherwise.

I believe that online privacy is almost non-existent, and I have (at this point) little qualms about it - it's just the way things are evolving. But given that we've been innovating towards a free, open, privacy-less future, why can't we at the same time think of ways to opt out, however temporarily? Make it an arms race of sorts.