Well since beginnnig this course I have gone from really never giving much thought to my privacy in the world, governing myself with only good sense, to think about it on an almost daily basis. Again last night I watched briefly an article that raised issues in the grocery store, when using electronic devices when you shop. Seems like marketers monitor your shopping habits, and information provided to barage you with information/propoganda about their products. Same now with Facebook. I can't say as I like this approach, it strikes me in the same vein as junk mail that comes to my home. On the other hand, if I use common sense when poking around, I can remain relatively unaffected by this practice.
When we apply the same thinking to a not for profit organization, we have enough information available to keep safer from risks. The more involved and possibly larger a non profit becomes the more resources need to be devoted to minimizing risk to ourselves and our constituents. It makes sense to use what is available to us, either in human resources or technology to safeguard that which we are responsible for.
My concern is that as technology grows, we are beginning to lose our capacity to self monitor. Revisit all you learned through your life about staying safe, apply it to technology and you reduce risk considerably.
While not actually related to technology and privacy, I would recommend to anyone grappling with the privacy issues to read The Gift Of Fear by Gavin De Becker. This is an excellent book about protecting ourselves from violence, but it can be applied more broadly to protecting ourselves in general.
