Viva la Revolucion Informacion!

John Battelle and fellow blogger Bruno have been waxing somewhat dramatically about the implications of a Google-ized information world, where the massive data stores create all sorts of problems as employees or entire companies go gonzo in a sort of WMD-style information attacks on the world.

Me to the bartender:
"I'll have what Bruno and Battelle have been drinking"

These scenarios are fun but totally unrealistic. These guys either have much more provocative, interesting and easy-to-compromise secret lives than most people or they are out of touch with Joe public, who has very limited information of interest to all but close family and friends.

A quick scan over the sea of blogged personal information demonstrates this clearly, especially when you reasonably assume that bloggers tend to be more interesting than .... average peeps(!?)

Most people - and I think most businesses - would not necessarily even be adversely affected in a "total information awareness" world. Some aspects of that world would be akin to the (on balance) positive changes affecting music and publishing industries as barriers to entry, copyright, ownership, and rights are all getting redefined at the speed of cash and enthusiasm.

Frankly I see more advantages than disadvantages - secrecy tends to reward the wrong groups. Transparency is destabilizing in a good way.

Viva la Revolucion Informacion!