Re: [projectvrm] Oxford University blocks Google Docs

[Doc Searls < >]

Thanks.

The VRM perspective is independence. 

To do anything substantive on the Net today, it's nearly impossible not to use personalized services inside corporate walled gardens such as Google Drive (aka Docs), Apple's iCloud and "social" systems such as Facebook and Twitter. But we also need personal capacities that are ours alone. These need to work in the world of connections that comprises the Net — just as our bodies and souls are ours alone, yet also work in human society.

Bruce Schneier compares these walled gardens to castles in a feudal system. <http://www.wired.com/opinion/2012/11/feudal-security/> We are vassals within these systems. Our job with VRM is not to fight these systems, but to equip individuals with their own tools of independence and engagement, to make them the points of integration for their own data, and of origination for what gets done with it. Our agency — the power we have to act in the world — should not only be ours alone, but have real power in dealing with those who would otherwise control us.

I think there are two things we need to get that power, besides a larger box of VRM tools and services. One is substitutability of services. The other is true freedom of contract.

Substitutability means we have a choice, say, of intentcasting services, or of trust networks and personal cloud service providers, just as we have a choice of email service providers — or to self-host our own email. (And we can move our mail from one to another without loss.)

Freedom of contract means we don't always have to submit to the dominant parties in calf-cow ceremonies (e.g. clicking "accept" to one-sided terms). We can have automated processes within which both parties fully respect each other and come to agreements as equals.

Doc

On Mar 9, 2013, at 5:38 AM, Anjali Ramachandran < "> > wrote:

This is a very interesting article on how Oxford has had to block Google Docs due to repeated phishing attempts using GDocs URLs. They are now pressurising Google to step up response and security. I quote: "Google may not themselves be being evil, but their inaction is making it easier for others to conduct evil activities using Google-provided services."

http://blogs.oucs.ox.ac.uk/oxcert/2013/02/18/google-blocks/

Relevant from a VRM perspective I thought.

Anjali

@anjali28