Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Sure you’ll somewhat limit your fans enjoyment by only providing smartphone data to our platform, but the good news is that you’ll never need to worry about missing out by not upgrading to gear that’s often found on $90K bass boats.

For just a small subscription fee you’ll be able to view historic and real time data from the guys fishing your lake that pilot the best equipped boats with all the bells and whistles. Because your smartphone and tablet has a GPS chip, we’ll be able to download the best structure images straight to your mobile or tablet. We’ll get you on the right structure and even suggest the best lure and technique to use. The catching part is still up to you...

I’m assuming that’s Opra. Never watch her or the crew from the view with sorry arse Whoopy, and crew. It is sometimes on when I service some of my accounts. Have never seen or heard such a bunch of AMERICA hating biotches in my life!!! When Judge Jeanie put whoopy and gang in there place and whoopy kicked her out, just wish I could have been close by with a Ha+dgre€£de!

My biggest fear is not being able to take a leak off the side of the boat with all these drones around. I might end up a You Tube star and not even know it.

Just make sure you do it on a warm day.

Regarding the intentional harassment part in the early posts:
Interference with hunters/fisherman/trappers is illegal - Class B misdemeanor under Texas Parks and Wildlife Code § 62.0125. Penalties can be nasty if the judge doesn't appreciate the nuances of your defense. This is exactly the type of crime that will piss them off.

The eventual intent seems to be monetization with a subscription service. Then he goes on to try to lure dock owners into collecting data for him - so that he can make money from it.

No thank you.

Two thoughts. First...


At minimum this could be a nuisance, but more seriously it could create a dangerous situation for the victim.


Second...
Though the intent, as described, does not seem to be malicious (beyond harassment) it's still "unauthorized access to computer systems"... hacking. The illegal kind. Even though the activity rises only to the level of a script-kiddie. It's also ironic that a "privacy advocate" wants to illegally invade others' privacy. For his own financial gain.


Do something safer (for yourself and your victim), do something legal.

Thanks for all of the engagement and playing along. I enjoy writing stories that tie together things I’m passionate about. Flying, fishing, tech startups and the ongoing battle for digital privacy are all in my wheelhouse so I cobbled together a little story to try to lighten things up in the OT and as Jon on TFF suspected, to shine light on the privacy, or more specifically, data aggregation issue.

Some of you know that I’ve been involved with dozens of startups including several Tier 1 ISPs that carry the majority of the world’s Internet traffic. I’m also involved with traditional advertising and digital marketing. In other words, I have unique insight into the issue. My story is a simple example of how your data is being exploited.

In my analogy I used silly waypoint boat data to represent everyone’s personal data that is actually being scraped, combined, and exploited constantly from every source imaginable. The companies exploiting your actual data have the same level of ethics and concern for your personal data and wellbeing as the wicked startup hacker in my story.

I’ve been in the room dozens of times when ideas were hatched that launched startups, apps, products and services. Most follow a similar flow as my story. I’m just trying to provide some insight to give everyone an idea of what we’re up against.

The privacy issue is complicated and the technology behind it is mostly hidden from view so it's difficult for most people to get their head around it. Instead of thinking the cat is out of the bag and we can’t do anything about it, if we unite and come together, we can stop damaging data aggregation through regulation. Aggregated data is the headwater where most of the privacy problems that harm us start.

I felt like I made some progress by the way some of you responded to the villain in my story. I truly feel this is a liberty and freedom issue. We all need to rise up with passion to stop data aggregation and long term storage of our metadata. Your data, and the data of everyone you love, will continue to be exploited until you finally stand up and demand it stops. That means you and yours will be targeted, conned, and discriminated against, and otherwise harmed until you stop it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not inciting violence, just regulation...

What I’m suggesting will in no way hurt the Internet but it will go a long way toward fixing it. Amazon, Google (Alphabet), Facebook, Apple or Microsoft will all be fine. It might sting a few of their “third party partners” that are data aggregators but they will survive. They just need to be regulated.

To come up to speed on this issue I suggest everyone start by reading Data and Goliath, The Hidden Battle to Collect Your Data and Control Your World by Bruce Schneier. It’s one of the best books on the subject written for a nontechnical mainstream audience. It also provides a high level overview on practical steps to take. If anyone needs guidance on the subject, feel free to look me up privately.

BTW, if your Ultrex goes wacky, don’t shoot me, I’m just the messenger…

Blue Moon