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Data and dating. Specifically “online dating.”​​​

The latest in helping singles find their future mate – a height validation badge. Tinder will now validate a user’s height ensuring (a little) honesty in the online dating community.

Only 15% of the population is taller than six feet, although Tinder has found that over 80% of their male users claim to be six feet or taller.

The technology to validate the height of anything is actually simple. You stand next to a well-known structure, like a commercial building or a famous sculpture, and snap a pic. My guess is the same technology could be applied to a vehicle (although not yet offered by Tinder). An algorithm, using spatial software, analyzes your height against the details of the construction. This software is not new technology; house design apps help clients determine if a couch will fit in their living room. Clothing apps help determine the best size and shape of an article of clothing based on photos of the individual.

The difference now, dating apps (Tinder) are validating all sorts of data, while collecting new data. If you ever used Tinder, you know that it partners with Facebook (to ensure you are a real person and for the photos), Instagram (for photos), and Spotify (for your music taste). Collecting “validated data” and meshing it with other personal data that is owned by the same parent company. PS the parent company of Tinder manages more than a half dozen other dating apps, each collects personal data, each with different user validation techniques.

Now if they would validate that the pictures are recent, that would be a definite win!

Do you have a digital alibi?

Have you ever stop to think – if you needed an alibi would you have one? With all the digital data collected today how likely is it that your digital data will provide your alibi?

Think about all your activities during the day, hmmm.

  • Your home security alarm
  • A Ring/doorbell system (or other outdoor motion sensor cameras)
  • Your vehicle’s GPS navigational system
  • Cellular GPS
  • Connected game console
  • Activity on your Echo or Google Home
  • Appliances connected to the internet (IoT)
  • Check-in at the gym
  • Credit card receipt

On average you are caught on cameras uptown 20 times a day.

Comment below with your digital alibi(s).

 

Top Ten Data Thoughts


  1. your digital foot print is every where
  2. if it’s free you are the product 
  3. be aware of how are data is used, collected, stored and shared
  4. data is not free and loyalty is not cheap
  5. include your digital assets in your estate planning
  6. backup – only important when you need it
  7. everything has history see #1
  8. change your passwords – think of it as a key to your house
  9. identity thief is almost anticipated, have a monitoring plan
  10. set up alerts for changes and/or activity on important data and accounts.

Did you take the 10 year photo challenge?

Many individuals took the 10 year challenge on social media. A game where you posted two pictures of yourself, one from today and one from ten years ago.

Well, the challenge may have been fun to share with friends and family, but what was going on behind the scene?

Many people in the industry suspected this was an easy way for technology companies to test and add data to their facial recognition algorithms.

When it comes to machine learning – the more data the more accurate the outcome. This challenge gave the backend systems data to predict what someones appearance will be like in the future. The algorithms will intercept the data and utilize it to understand how humans age.

Protecting your privacy on your Smartphone.

  • Voice assist – when using voice assist (like Siri and Google Assist), they are listening for you to say the command word(s). “Hey Siri.” And sometimes it will pick up a conversation that is not necessarily triggered by the command due to hearing similar words.

We give a lot of trust and responsibility to these companies to be transparent in what they capture and collect.

You can turn off voice assist through your settings on your phone.

NOTE: Google Privacy Checkup shows you what it has recorded in the past, your web activity and your location. This service is available for any device, using Google or Youtube.

https://myaccount.google.com/intro/privacycheckup

  • Location services is another application that you can manage within your device settings. Turn off this feature for all apps that do not need location services to operate. Such as music apps, calculators. etc.
  • Use a password, on all your devices!

My 2019 Predictions

Here are my predictions (three months into the year)…

Thanks to everyone that encouraged me to continue with the blog. I still have a lot to explain, learn and discuss. 

  1. New communication channels are on the way. We have text, direct message, alerts… with new digital applications, new channels are on the way.
  2. Block chain will find its application for personal use. Side business will continue to emerge and block chain may be a easy and legal binding way to keep individuals accountable. 
  3. Grocery shopping – Digital Grocery Vending Machines. Soon we will see inventory is delivered in a shipping container – that is swapped out at critical thresholds. Just think – robot arms grabbing the items for shelves that appear to be staked without logical order. If you know for every two milks, you sell one dozen eggs. The shelves get stacked for optimized inventory storage. 
  4. Grocery shopping – VR. Soon you will be able to pick the fruit from your living room.  Through VR (and Robot arms) you will be able to pick an individual apple from a shelf. 
  5. Grocery store formats. New formats will be focused around customer types and not neighborhood. 
  6. Banking – brick and mortar facilities. Will execute as a customer service facility. A place where a small percent still does their banking with a real-live teller and where others address errors in their banking transactions. Smaller and change in their op ed. 
  7. Government actions will define standards of expectation and validations for breaches in consumer privacy, data use and ownership, and general policies. 

The battle between E-MAIL & ACCOUNT ID & USER NAME

What’s the difference? Are they the same? How do I know which to use when?

As my mom signs up for Echo apps, she is constantly getting tangled in the web of when to  an email and when to use (any numerous) account ids.Sorry mom there is no simple answer.

E-MAIL – for this blog post we are going to assume an email belongs to only one person.

  • E-mail addresses are unique – like a phone number  or physical address there is only one destination per address.
  • E-mail address are NOT case sensitive (PASSWORDS are CASE sensitive.)
  • E-mails always have 3 parts; username, domain (followed by an actual dot) and the extension. There are more rules to what can be included in a e-mail address and what the computer will not except. Usually your e-mail host provider will send you an email back to your inbox if your e-mail could not be delivered due to technological error. example using a bad character in your email address like a space.
  • Some e-mails are anonymous. The person who created the email did not have to prove they were JOHN smith to use the email address johnsmith@domain.com. Nor did they have to prove they were ablueclown@surprise.com.
  • You could have lots of e-mail addresses and use only one e-mail program to read all your new e-mails.
  • There is no magic look up find all email addresses’ belonging to the same person. Even if the personalization (front part of the @ symbol) is the exact same. In the same manner, there is no validation or look up to connect or join email with mobile numbers.

ACCOUNT/USER + ID/NAME (or any combination)

  • An Account ID, is an unique id for a webpage, business, app. You may use the same account/user name across multiple applications or logins. But each business probably doesn’t know that. As companies merged rules around how a customer can access their digital information gets tricky for the customer experience and development teams.
  • Or account id, may or may not be tied to an email. Usually when creating a new account with a new business, they will ask for contact details, address, email, phone – they would prefer someway to contact you if need be.
  • If your account id is your email address – they will usually note it on the login screen.
  • Every website/company creates their own rules for what makes an valid account id. Some allow spaces, some allow numbers. It is all how the site was programmed and there are no set standards for how this should be developed.
  • Usually account ids are not case sensitive. Off-hand I can’t think of one site that uses a case sensitive account id.
  • Some businesses will only let you sign up one account to one email. The account id is how you login into their site and the email is how they will contact you.
  • When you change email addresses, your accounts will need to be updated. Now this is a tricky bit. If a business uses an email account as the login name, if the email address changes, can the individual update their personal details or is the original email locked-in?

When a developer is creating a new system that requires the user to maintain personal and contact details on file, there are multiple facets to consider. Does it require a password? Will it require the user to have an email or phone number to contact them in the future and for what reasonsCan we collect permissions from the user via Terms and Conditions to use cookies and contacts to gather detailed user information?

I’ve come across many website that validate you are you, by sending a text with a code to your phone, to be entered onto the website This provides a double validation/security point for you the user, and provides both your email and phone contact information back to the business.

Think of your EMAIL ADDRESS as physical delivery address for just you for all your incoming e-mails.

Think of you ACCOUNT ID as your unique nickname used by a business.

Not all big companies have it together. I use AT&T in my house; this includes mobile phone, cable, internet and home security. But I have 3 separate accounts with AT&T today. One email address, one physical address, one phone number and 3 account numbers and 3 user names. I have to log into each account site separately to see any billings, account statements, etc. Even with my knowledge of logins and how they work across large systems, I still had no idea what was going on with my accounts, when one was saying ‘everything is fine’ online and the TV keep splashing a ‘time to pay your bill message’. I (thought) I had set up the auto pay (I noticed during the set up conversations that the security system is separated from all the mobile and cable logins) for 2 accounts. But much to my dismay the cable/tv can not be combined with the mobile account, and I have 2 logins for the website to manage 2 accounts both in my name.

NOTE: AT&T and Comcast both assign you an e-mail address within their own domain. example: yourname@att.com. I’m not sure why they do this, it made it complicated on my end, one more e-mail address to manage. And it appears that now that I’m no longer a Comcast customer, I can not access that e-mail account.

ALSO NOTE: The set up of certain apps on Echo has proved to be difficult. Both my mom and myself are using iPad and iPhone with the Amazon Echo (which is integrated with google). So the conversation of email and ids has been a struggle during setup. There are no standards with in the digital world for the user to understand. Only standards for the developers to keep in mind due to back end processes.

Autonomous vehicles

When you think about an autonomous car what do you picture in your mind? Something like the Jetsons or KITT form Knight Rider.  When we talk to our friends and co-workers about autonomous cars – the conversation gets heated. Some against it, are for it, some think they will never see it happen. What does autonomous really mean? Automated? Self-driving? Handsfree? Does it pick up your Starbucks before you?

Well we know autonomous cars  are vehicles that are capable of sensing its environment and navigating without human input. And I believe the number one selling point for an autonomous car is the safety factors. But I’m still not sold that in my near life time (2020/2025) there will be 100% autonomous communities. We have different ideas of what to expect out of autonomous and transportation. My vision is more like the Jetsons. Flies through the air and is quick.

Are you thinking about how an autonomous car would affect your life?

Changes to our neighborhoods:

  • What happens to our garage attached to our house? Parking structures and handicap parking spaces?
  • Are they fuel efficient & environmentally friendly?
  • Do they just appear and dis-appear as needed?
  • Does it eliminate Valet parking?
  • Are they self charging?
  • Truck drivers?

Vehicle Ownership

  • Does everyone car-share?
  • Can an average individual afford their own autonomous vehicle?
  • Will there be as much as an emphases on customization of  vehicles?
  • Will it create value in the collector cars – ie ’66 vet?

Respondents to an independent survey were found to be most concerned about software hacking/misuse, and were also concerned about legal issues and safety.

Sensors and data will play a part in the infrastructure designed for autonomous cars. 2012, Computer scientists at the University of Texas in Austin began developing smart intersections designed for autonomous cars. The intersections will have no traffic lights and no stop signs, instead using computer programs that will communicate directly with each car on the road.

But even after all the technology is built, we have rules that conflicts with innovation. The Vienna Convention on Road Traffic This international treaty, designed to facilitate international road traffic and increase road safety, was agreed upon at the United Nations Economic and Social Council’s Conference on Road Traffic in 1968 and came into force on May 21, 1977 (http://www.unece.org/trans/conventn/ crt1968e.pdf). The convention states that “Every driver shall at all times be able to control his vehicle,” which conflicts somewhat with the automatic control concept. Systems such as antilock braking systems or electronic stability programs are acceptable because they do not take full control of the vehicle but rather help the driver to follow a desired path, possibly in situations where control of the vehicle has already been lost. Wider use of technological advances, however, will require amendment of the convention.

EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it! Digital, on-demand, real-time not your typical newspaper.

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If you are my age or older, there was a time you used the newspaper as a source of information. You saved clippings. Read the funnies. A weeks worth of unread papers had it’s own special place in your home. You may have even had a paper route as a teenager – I did.

If you don’t know what a paper route is, it was a job most teenagers could handle. You got paid for each paper you delivered. The more papers you delivered they more you earned. It was a direct income job. You managed subscriptions, collected payment and managed your supply chain.  You owned a route, usually in your own neighborhood. The first paper route I had was a daily newspaper. 7 days a week, everyday of the year including all holidays and bad weather. The second route I had was the Observer, which was only published twice a week. And if you don’t know what a newspaper is you are young.

 

My 8 year old nephew was recently grounded from the TV and other electronic devices. He is very passionate about his sport scores, stats and updates. Not just who won the game but his is interested in the details. It was killing him not to know how the game when last night. So we purchased a newspaper and an ice cream cone and we read the paper together. This was the first time he had seen the sports section of a national daily printed newspaper. He was surprised to see the stats and scores laid out on this huge piece of paper in black and white. He didn’t’ really know what a newspaper was or what information was available. My nephew’s generation has not yet been named but it will be a generation without the printed press. He is growing up in a culture of always digital, on-demand and real-time.

Continue reading EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it! Digital, on-demand, real-time not your typical newspaper.