Personal information data and identity: owning your personal information and it being useful.
Introduction
Information about ourselves is becoming increasingly important. Until recently, such information has only been stored and collected on paper or mechanical systems. Now that this data is collected and stored in a digital and computerised manner the possibilities for it's use have changed. Information about us can be collected quickly, cheaply and automatically. It can then be processed by a computer programme. This can lead to improvements in our day to day lives such as ease of travel and communication. It can also lead to unfortunate consequences such as data being lost, stolen or used inappropriately. Computerised systems make it possible for this to happen at a much larger scale than possible with paper based systems.
Therefore it is important that we understand exactly how our data is collected, stored and used. It is essentially that we build systems to do this which are designed, rather than simply created without consideration, as a result of our fast paced technically advancing world.
This paper seeks to examine personal information and its relationship with the notion of identity: how has it come to exist, how it is used and handled today, and where current developments will lead in the future.
It will do this by examining literature on the subject and analysing the products and services that make use of personal data and identity.
This subject has been chosen as the author considers the handling of personal information data and identity is going to be one of the biggest changes to our day to day lives that has happened since the advent of the internet.
There is the need for designers to fully understand the nature of this subject and to be involved in the designing of the products and services that make use, handle or contribute to personal information and identity.
My personal aim for my dissertation was to explore the potential of personal information brokerage. The concept of personal information brokerage is explained well in a document by Edentity. The Data Portability movement has also been developing during and after the period of writing my dissertation.