Month: January 2015

Posted on by Eric J. Sinrod

Keeping Our Tech Love Alive

We live in a world in which we are bombarded with information data from many sources, and so much around us on the tech landscape is transparent. How, then, do we keep our tech love alive? Read on.

Spoiling the Surprise?

Yes, it is wonderful that we have so many interesting and creative information technology outlets. But at times we are robbed of the magic and mystique of learning about the world with surprise and personal experience.

Facebook is a great way to keep in touch with and learn about our friends. However, it becomes tiring and redundant to be notified of posts from the same people over and over again with respect to the most mundane matters.

And sure, it is wonderful to be able read online reviews of restaurants and hotels, but then when we arrive we generally find what we were expecting based on advance notice.

Of course, online trailers for movies and television shows help us to select what to watch, but so much is shown in the trailers that we know beforehand where the movies and shows will go.

When it comes to music, we have access to so much from online outlets that we can know so many more bands and songs than ever before; but at the same time it can become rare to hear new and different musical works.

In the 1970s, the band Heart sang “Keep My Love Alive.” So, how do we keep our tech love alive? Continue reading “Keeping Our Tech Love Alive”

Posted on by Eric J. Sinrod

Do We Need a ‘Right to Be Forgotten’ in the U.S.?

Should our digital pasts always follow us around, or should we have the right periodically to wipe our digital slates clean?

The notion of “the right to be forgotten” has garnered quite a bit of attention in Europe, where privacy is more strictly protected than here in the United States. And while there have been some rumblings on our soil, perhaps now is the time for this notion to be taken more seriously in the United States.

The band Simple Minds in the 1980s had the famous song and lyric, “Don’t You (Forget About Me).” Back then, before we played our lives out loud on the Internet, the fear was that an individual might not be noticed and might disappear into oblivion.

Fast-forward: We currently live in much different times. Practically everything is recorded for posterity. And this includes not just warm and friendly family photos, but also material that at the time may seem funny and perhaps edgy, and that later may came back to bite.

Continue reading “Do We Need a ‘Right to Be Forgotten’ in the U.S.?”

Posted on by Eric J. Sinrod

Where Has All the Privacy Gone?

When it comes to privacy, a lyric from a Joni Mitchell song seems apt: “You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.” Indeed, as technology has moved forward, it seems that practically every semblance of privacy has disappeared.

Let’s recount just a few of the ways that privacy has gone by the wayside.

From the Workplace to Cyberspace

For starters, there is very little privacy in the workplace. Most employers have employees sign policies stating that the business equipment that employees use is company property and that employers can monitor communications using that equipment. Employees are told upfront that they do not have expectations of privacy when using company phones, computers, and other devices.

In addition, practically everyone is living their life, at least to some extent, on the Internet. As a consequence, all sorts of private information is shared in cyberspace. When making online purchases, for example, credit card and home address information is shared. When making such purchases, consumers agree to the terms of service of the providers. At times, those terms of service allow for the further sharing of information provided, and can also lead to targeted advertising. Continue reading “Where Has All the Privacy Gone?”

Posted on by Eric J. Sinrod

It’s 2015: The Future Is Here for Legal Tech

It may be hard to believe, but we already have closed the books on 2014, and we now have started making our legal way into 2015. The year 2015 at first blush sounds futuristic, and in many ways we really are living in the legal tech future we could have barely imagined not that many years ago.

When I started practicing law approximately 30 years ago, advanced technology meant that legal secretaries used mag cards in their electronic typewriters. When we conducted legal research, we actually went into the law library and cracked open real, hard-backed books. Once upon a time, it was a very, very big deal to receive a fax.

Back then, we used dictaphones to dictate letters, memoranda and briefs. When it came to document production, we actually met in conference rooms with opposing counsel and exchanged boxes of hard copy documents for in-person review. When we made telephone calls, we were tethered to the phones and phone cords at our office desks. And, of course, when we were working, we definitely were physically present at our law offices.

In what seems like a heartbeat, those days are gone. Continue reading “It’s 2015: The Future Is Here for Legal Tech”

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The opinions expressed on this blog are those of the author and are not to be construed as legal advice.

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