Is the Internet Too Open?

Information for everyone?

The idea of the Internet is that information should be freely accessible and ready at your fingertips but over the past few years the Internet has moved into a more private realm channeling users into closed end sites. From MySpace to Facebook, more of the Internet giants alike are becoming more "controlling" of what Internet users are accessing within a sites interface due to data larceny. It is no longer convenient for Internet users to easily access exactly what they are looking for but rather directed into an Internet space controlled by the webmaster in a way that the site may protect its valuable information.

Big dogs of the Internet want users to use their own information to find what they are looking for and in the end return to their site, not a competitor. It is very hard to do this when websites have open information up for grabs. When one site has an exposed database then another site may take that information and claim it as it's own on a totally different web site and format. In the past few years this whole process has gone high-tech, it is done with bots through an automated process called scraping. Taken into consideration users will eventually find what they are looking for, it is the data and information that is readily available to users within a site that is the main controlling factor in a users reason for their initial visit.

Internet gurus are finding ways to keep their data "private" without limiting users. Protecting your own on the Internet may end up being a long fought battle leaving the Internet wide open and for the taking. If this continues maybe one day we will all rejoice in the saying "finders keepers losers weepers".

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  • http://www.spywarebiz.com Doug Woodall

    I do agree that the info thats being given to the casual user is limited. But as users become more educated in using the Internet, they have the ability to glean better info from sites if they desire.
    Granted most users click on the first link they are supplied for their search and accept the data they are given without a second thought.