Privacy is No Longer a 'Social Norm’ !!!

You must be wondering what the limits of privacy are, well, lately, Google COO Sheryl Sandberg publicly said that privacy is no longer a social norm. As student of social sciences I always come across the sentence that social norms change overtime. However it is also believed that core values hardly change over the period. On the one hand, when gadgets like IPod create social isolation, people end up saying ‘hey IPod stop causing social isolation’. On the other hand social networking mediums like Facebook and Twitter connect us, people end up saying “hey Facebook stop privacy invasion”.

There are people who are convinced that too much isolation and too little privacy are the biggest social problems of our time. Google COO believes that “People have really gotten comfortable not only sharing more information and different kinds, but more openly and with more people.”We have witnessed that our networking journey in cyber age, all the way started with basic chat site to video talk, personal information sharing on web to new phenomenon of blogging and social networking like Facebook & Twitter. These days people are asking questions "Is too much information available to public not an invasion of public privacy, enabling people to stalk and access all the information"? Well, on the one hand people believe that we have choice through privacy setting, what to put on the Facebook and what not? Who should be able to view and who should not!!! On the other hand people believe that Facebook makes people to make more personal information publicly available without realizing it.

There may be many views on privacy debate but one thing one should realize that as per Newyork Times, Google and Microsoft Bing has signed an agreement with Facebook, to allow people’s status updates to be indexed by both search engines in order to enable the search giants to provide real time results. Is human society redefining the social norms pertaining to privacy or we are going to face the maliase of no privacy, spread by social networking medium. Let us see, time will tell.

What???? Taking Cell Phone to Grave, Height of Gadget Love!!!

Whenever I read history of ancient civilization, I come across intriguing information about culture and ancient life, people burying various things along with the dead body. In case of women, gems and jewelry or anything human adored, took them all the way to grave. Taking cell phones to grave is the norm, being set by modern creatures. If ancient Greek and Egyptian can do all that why not modern person…hmmm tit for tat. I was aware modern creature used to take along with them the dinner table, the bedroom, even the bathroom stall. But in recent years, some of us have started taking our beloved cell phones someplace really startling: the grave. MSNBC shares an interesting report it says “It seems that everyone under 40 who dies takes their cell phone with them, it’s a trend with BlackBerrys, too, even one guy was buried with his Game Boy”. Anecdotal evidence suggests being buried with a favorite tech device is on the upswing. The Future Laboratory, a London-based think tank, has commented on the behavior, noting it in places like the United Kingdom, Australia and South Africa. But experts are seeing it happen in the United States as well. People have even heard of cases where people are being buried with their iPod. But it’s the cell phone, in particular, that seems to be the burial gadget of choice. Why, exactly, are people going to the grave with their gadgets? Experts say there are a number of reasons. Some do it for the same reason people have always tucked mementos into a casket (or tomb, as in the case of King Tut). People want to surround themselves (or their loved ones) with the things they hold dear, whether that’s their cell phone and headset or some family photos, a fishing rod, a piece of treasured jewelry. Report further says “A lot of people say the phone represents the person, that it is part of their legacy, It’s an extension of them, like their class ring.” Modern era is getting us acquainted with intriguing norms, changing at fast pace….i still remember my conversion with my LUMS fellow ‘Ahmed Murad’ wish we were born in future ……….

Fast Paced Crazy Technology; Wish I Were Born in Future

Today, after the intriguing session in STRATEGY CLASS at LUMS, on Core Competencies & lots of talk about future of business, society, human being and world landscape at large, my friend AHMED made me think about these words;

“Imran, I wish if we were born after couple of generations in future”!!!!! It made me think! Innovation driven and fast paced technology is changing the overall human life, intriguing, mind boggling, yet powerful with pros and cons, moving ahead with unstoppable pace.

Success is all about mapping or understanding the future and adjusting with similar pace…..

Following news has made me think even deeper “Intel has showed off a wireless electric power system …..mind boggling….. yes…that’s what people said once human being thought of flying… Intel team ……..sent the electricity wirelessly to a lamp on stage, lighting a 60 watt bulb that uses more power than a typical laptop computer.

Most importantly, the electricity was transmitted without zapping anything or anyone that got between the sending and receiving units.

It seems everything is possible, what if following happens in our lifetime;

Women may not need men to produce babies…….It is already a known fact that women have certain hormone if stimulated; it could result in child birth without mating with men. Men would become a useless junk and extinct creature.

It reminds me of a movie, in which due to some global disease men die and whole planet is left with only women…

At times, things are happening so fast, it seem world is FLAT….few friends gone to an extent saying “Hay World, Please Stop, You Are Too Fast, Let Me Get Off”