As people and companies move their conversations and practices online, the shift into the digital realm comes with concerns of safety and security, and how much we’re willing to expose ourselves to the rest of the world.
On Friday, Weekend Argus will host a livestream with technology expert and consultant Brendon Petersen as he explains how best to protect your data and best practices when it comes to managing your digital self. Petersen will also share insight on the latest developments around social media and what it means to communicate digitally.
Petersen has spent years working in technological circles having been a part of the Amazon global launch readiness team. He previously worked as assistant editor at Popular Mechanics SA Mmgazine, and hosted a regular technology segment on Good Hope FM, as well as several segments for CapeTalk and Metro FM, and appearances on the SABC3 show Trending SA. Currently, he is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of the technology website Reframed and its affiliated podcast and YouTube channels.
Early this year, popular messaging service WhatsApp and its parent company Facebook faced global backlash after it announced changes to its terms of service, and policies regarding the sharing of user data. The announcement saw a major exodus of customers to competitor apps such as Telegram and Signal, as well as Facebook announcing it would delay the changes with customers only having to accept them by May 15.
“The number one rule about being online is to behave as you would in real life,” Petersen said. “There are certain bits of information, and certain things that you wouldn't say in real life that many of us have become very comfortable with sharing online.”
Meanwhile, Facebook is facing several lawsuits filed in the United States and around the world due to allegations of antitrust violations and the harvesting of users’ data.
“We have choices as to whether or not we want to use these platforms,” Petersen explained. “There are very few instances where we're forced to sign up to something, instead we do it either because we want to communicate with someone or because we're curious, but very rarely is signing up to any platform a necessity.”
The livestream is at 11am on Friday via Facebook Live. For more information, see Weekend Argus’s Facebook page.
Weekend Argus