Been using AOL to search for whatever? The world knows what you're up to, and let's hope that your employer doesn't get wind of your hunt for a new job while you were on the clock.
Somehow or other, twenty million Internet queries from AOL have gotten posted on the Web, for any and all to peruse. What's the first thing that anyone wants to know? How many users were in search of pornography, of course, and was that creepy man down the block hunting for kiddie porn?
My own list of queries would revolve around searching for literary agents. Anyone lifting my three month set of topics would find such eye popping questions as: "michelle andelman literary agent" or "christina hogrebe literary agent" and so on to infinity. What does that say about me? That I'm mad, of course, or obsessed with one particular industry.
I've done nothing illegal or wrong or even embarrassing in my searches, but all the same, what I've queried is entirely my business. The fact that the data are out there for all to see is nothing less than an invasion of privacy, like having half the world looking over my shoulder as I check to see what kinds of novels the agents at McIntosh & Otis are selling these days.
AOL says it compiles the data to make it easier for the user to refer back to their recent searches. It's a matter of convenience, you see, but sometimes there's a price to pay for the shortcut and the easy way. I'd rather just have to re-enter my query, thanks just the same, and not have data collected on me for my convenience. I could do without the saving of a keystroke when I have to pay with my privacy.
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