shouting loudly

Dual post: AOL and AEJMC

I’ve just returned from the AEJMC convention in San Francisco. Something exciting (other than my job interviews) happened there, but first let’s talk about AOL.

Over the weekend, AOL decided it was a good idea to release mountains of search results from users who did not consent. User names were replaced by numbers, but this still presents huge privacy threats, not least of all because each person’s searches were collected under exactly one number. Individuals regularly search for themselves, for instance, though apparently there are also credit card numbers and social security numbers in the pile.

Given some personally identifiable information attached to an individual’s search number, other searches (for online personals, medical products, etc.) could be pinned on said user. On at least one blog, user number 17556639 has already been accused of plotting to kill his wife.

This is definitely a violation of privacy and (drumroll please) a lawsuit waiting to happen. Thankfully, AOL has pulled the data and apologized, but copies continue to circulate (and never will be fully snuffed out).

And now, for something completely different. AEJMC was a good time but very draining. I did 7 job interviews, chaired a panel, presented at a scholar-to-scholar session (i.e., poster session), and attended two business meetings and a preconference. In between, I actually made it to a couple panels as an audience member.

I did not attend the business meeting where AEJMC passed a resolution opposed to the Bush admin’s anti-press policies. As Jay Rosen (another AEJMC member) notes:

The key passage is: “The membership of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication urges the Bush administration to abandon its anti-press policies.”

Follow the link for the whole rez. It nails 10 theses to the White House door and urges AEJ members and member departments to take action to condemn obvious anti-press behavior.