This may come as a surprise to many, but the internet is public. It just is.
The problem with the internet is that it gives a false sense of security. We sit around in our pj's tweeting to our friends about how great it would be if someone would bring us a bowl of Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey ice cream right about now. It kinda feels like a personal conversation but it's not. In fact, even in a "private messenger" like AIM, there's no real way to know that the person you are chatting with isn't the spouse or child of the person you THINK you are chatting with.
I don't consider myself completely paranoid but I do realize that digital information is very easily intercepted, stored, reproduced and manipulated.
The expectation of privacy should be no more than walking around downtown or wandering through the mall. Most people will keep to themselves but it's a shared space where anyone could be watching...surveying behavior... conducting research...stalking...seeking out customers...sizing up a mark.
