Liz and Bill Spear wrote a post this morning called "Ask an Ambassador - We're all on Candid Camera". Did you ever see the Candid Camera show? It ran from 1948 through the 1970s, and then would appear from time to time afterwards. The gist was that there would be hidden cameras watching while people reacted to scenarios, without knowing they were being filmed.
As Bill pointed out, we now all know we could be on camera every time we are out in public. Our actions and our words can be tracked, shared online, used as memes, or whatever.
Does that mean we're all on our best behavior every moment of every day? No. We can actually forget there are cameras all over the place. Walk down a street in a city? You're being filmed. Go up to a front door? You're most likely on camera. Just think of all the videos showing porch pirates or animals showing up on a front porch. Think of the entire satellite system in the sky, and cameras that are located on buildings. Crime shows regularly depict a car being tracked driving from location to location, with a close up of the license plate and driver. When people see something going on in their neighborhood, the first inclination nowadays seems to be to pull out a phone and record the scene, not get involved and help. So the cameras and microphones are everywhere.
And here's a personal story. When Ring devices first came out, a friend/past client of mine put the recording units inside and outside of his home. I was not aware of that. Anyway, his wife was out of town for Thanksgiving and we invited him to share the day with us. He came over and we had a great time, replete with lots of food and drink. At some point during the evening, he spoke on the phone with his wife. That's the backstory.
Once his wife returned home, I stopped by her house to let her know we missed her, and to bring a Thanksgiving treat to her. We were standing on the front porch chatting, and she said something to the effect that it sounded like her husband had way too much to drink at dinnertime. And I laughed and said something back about well, he did enjoy himself. And then, out of the blue, aka the ring doorbell, came his voice, "I did NOT drink too much!" Anyway, I was shocked to hear his voice and had to quickly think back through the entire conversation to make sure I hadn't said anything else he might have been upset about. Yikes! Luckily I had not, so we were good.
Anyway, that was at the start of nearly everyone having a camera on their front porch. Now we all know it's possible that we are being viewed where ever we are, so most of us wouldn't talk about someone else on a front porch or even inside a house.
Bill's post led my mind in all sorts of place, but mostly it made me think that it's scary that privacy is not a thing anymore. Unless perhaps if you live on a mountain in Montana with no neighbors in site. But then again, those drones and satellites!
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