It's crept into this column as well.

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I readily admit that my focus has wavered throughout this column. Am I dealing with the materials that we ourselves post, or no longer post, to the web? Am I dealing with the information that the government no longer makes public? Am I dealing with the fact that the government, and others, can constantly keep tabs on us?

Information is supposed to help us understand a situation, but it seems that the incessant gathering of information causes confusion. When we start suspecting that our refrigerators are reporting to some unnamed nutritional organization that the cheese we're keeping in it is getting moldy, and wondering whether that will influence our chances of getting the job we've applied for, we're losing our focus. So which is it - what we post, what's hidden, the fact, or suspicion, of being watched? In essence, I'm dealing with all of these, and more. I'm dealing with the question of how we manage our lives within the context of so much gathering. And it seems as though it's getting harder and harder to manage.

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Go to: They've got a little list.