How Wikipedia will affect our privacy

Wikipedia is one of the successful products on the internet that has started a new wave of thinking in our world. People are becoming active in producing content for people. This new wave has been termed prosumerism by Alvin Toffler in his book the third Wave. Prosumerism refers to the state where the producer is the consumer.

If RFID use follows this wave, we will begin to see how people create their own uses of RFID and change their everyware products at home and outside, setting privacy zones and access restrictions. This way people will have more choice in protecting their privacy.

Explaining the futures and the privacy implications

In the total Government Control scenario we will observe a society with an absence of privacy under the pretext of public welfare, from growing crime rates, from terrorism, to grant privileges to families, and to make life easier for the public. What will go hidden is the number of corrective measures taken to arrive at this Utopian dream

In Transparent societies we well see how people with access to any information, become voyeuristic, and how emotions and feelings rather become data. Sousveillance will be the theme as people attempt to watch the watchers.

Market Imperialism is the most probable scenario that will occur with further globalization. Capitalist motives will become to convert people's lives into better, luxurious, efficient lives. With the rising consumer market and booming economy, this scenario will proceed. In this instance, we will see how a small activist group encourages privacy to become a point of sale act. Though glamorously marketed, it will have a placebo effect on people as they feel they still have their privacy.

Prosumerism is a concept that is becoming the norm with internet success such as Wikipedia, wherein the producer is rather the consumer. This balance strives to create more honest products for the society. If we can shift to a society of prosumers, we will see more proactive people, largely taking issues such as privacy into their hands, developing widgets and self sufficient systems to protect their privacy.

By Naturalism, I am referring to the fall back into ancient ways of life, by exploring mythological mediums of communication such as telepathy, ancient medicines and so on. This may be practiced by a small cult of people, or rather outcasts that chooses to stay off the technological grid.

Looking at alternate futures

We all know somehow deep inside that we are heading towards an Orwellian World. And while most industrialized countries locate their people through surveillance cameras, there are many town and villages in the world, where there is no access to even electricity. Maybe these places will preserve greater freedom of speech over time, if we do not categorize them as tribals and place them in human zoos under googleearth's supervision. The digital divide will provide a divide in cultural freedom. Maybe maybe not. But we can definetly think of some alternatives in the future.