Dont judge a book by its cover

When you were little, something your mum would have told you is not to judge a book by its cover; however this is something we all do. We take one look at the outside of something, a first impression and we judge them, making assumptions about who they are and what they represent. This has now moved from a physical domain into digital, through the use of internet.

I am the first to admit that quite frequently I judge a company by the state of their website. When I hear about a new company or business, the first thing I do is jump on the internet and search for their website. They immediate lose points if they do not have a website as I believe that a website is crucial, even for a business that exists only in the physical world. My next judgements are made upon looking at the webpage. For me, my whole perception of a new business is based solely on how well the website is designed. Is the website visually appealing? Does it provide the information that I require? Is there sufficient information without information overload? Can I easily find contact details, opening hours, etc? If I find the website to be hard to navigate or it looks unprofessional, I immediately confer these perceptions onto the company itself.

When I first saw the website for MSY, an IT retailer, my initial impresions about the business were not good. I immediately associated the lack of care for the website with a negative view about the business. There was no way that I would go to that store. It just so happens though that despite this terrible website, MSY is a very popular store, with a great reputation where people line up on the footpath to buy computer parts from them. Does this then negate the need for a good website?

So my question to you is this; is it necessary to have a website, even if you operate only in a physical store/office? Is it reasonable for us to judge a business by their website? What do you think?

Do we deserve privacy?

Privacy. Its a frequent topic that arises in relation to the internet. We all want privacy and security when we use the internet, but do we deserve it? When you start to consider all the information we freely put on the internet, is it in our rights to expect privacy?

Consider Facebook. Everyday, thousands of people log onto Facebook and upload information, whether it be through status updates, photos, videos, comments, etc. Even with the highest 'security' settings that Facebook offers, all this information is still on the internet, waiting for people to find it and access it. Even if we delete things, it is still floating around in cyberspace.

A lot of people upload information onto the internet, without considering what they are actually telling people. How many times has one of your friends updated their Facebook or Twitter status, talking about their amazing European jaunt. While you may be extremely jealous of your friend having a wonderful time in Europe, there is a worrying thing about these status updates - other people using the internet now know that your friend isnt home. A controversial website has popped up called Please Rob Me where individual's location twitter updates have been aggregated that reveal they are not at home. Whilst this website is not currently active, it is a wakeup call to many people about how what they post in a 'safe' environment can have negative impacts.

So the question I ask is this - Do we deserve privacy when we are the ones who are putting the information onto the internet?

I leave you with a warning - be careful with what you post on the internet, you dont know who is viewing and using the information.