Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Look before you Enter?

So the great seasons of Indian MBA Entrance Exams officially ends for me as I await the most awaited result within few weeks & with which, whether positive or negative ends my tryst with the stupid system of the Indian MBA Entrance which keeps tending towards the infinite level of stupidity!

However, this post ain't to ramble upon the flaws in the whole system, (there will be another blog for it for sure, depending on the outcome the coming few weeks!) but it is about the privacy or rather the loss of it, any aspirant faces during the process.The moment an aspirant submits few application forms, he/she has already given up some very important information which is sure to trouble them in months to come in the form of never-ending rings & beeps & calls.No doubt, it didn't surprise me when I could find my complete info available on a mere google search.Sites like http://www.kenils.co.in/ actually purchase such huge database of aspirants & their basic information & sell it to the local colleges, who in turn leave no stone unturned to teach marketing to their if-existing students, even if it means messaging at odd hours & all hours.

If such small sites can have so much power & make a business out of this information, no doubt we are heading towards a time when social networking sites are gonna be the powerhouses. And, ain't it already there? Try to log into a music application or a reader using your FB login, & you have already given them all the access unknowingly of which they make sure to make the best use, putting us in a dangerous scenario. Such personal data is available even to your future employers or evaluators, who interestingly rely more on a google & other database search, than the person infront them whom they are reviewing.

I wonder where actually the governments around the world are trying to focus when they talk about laws like PIPA & SOPA. Digital information & privacy is a strong concept which has emerged not-so-slowly & is bound to have a more influence on every level from individual to government. Wikileaks has already given the governments across the world a wake up call. High time individuals understand that one needs to think before they update & upload in our constantly networked times.