Public lives: Does the internet know too much about us?
Meet Dominic Campbell. He's white, has brown hair, brown eyes and stubble, and lives in north London. After studying geography at Manchester University, he worked in local government for five years, before setting up a consultancy a year ago. He has 1,053 bookmarked web pages. He recently took a holiday in Monte Carlo, went drinking with a guy called Ian, and attended a wedding, in that order. He just discovered how good the hospitality is at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium – mini fish and chips went down well. Last week, he went to a Radiohead gig. It was good, though didn't quite reach the heights he expected. He was impressed with the sanitation arrangements.
I didn't learn all this from speaking to Dominic. I don't know any of his friends, or family. He's not a neighbour or a celebrity of any sort. There was no need to break into his house, either, and I didn't learn about his life from a forgotten file on a commuter train to Surrey. Though it seems an unhealthy amount of information to know about a total stranger, I didn't have to do much digging at all – it's all on the web, freely available to millions, and most of it was put there by Dominic himself, using an array of internet facilities that allow users to share the kinds of personal details that until recently were regarded as well and truly private.
