Serendipity35

So, I'm looking at another online service called Textamerica (not really a great name for this service) that lets you send images & videos via your camera phone and upload files from your desktop or digital camera. You post right to the Web.

I first heard about this from Amber MacArthur (AKA Amber Mac) who is a host/producer of some good tech programs on G4TECHTV (Canada) like Torrent, Gadgets & Gizmos and Call for Help.

That last one is a daily one-hour television program that teaches viewers about tech hardware and software.

She's a Web 2.0 advocate and has a lot of experience in web design.

She also does the podcast Inside the Net which focuses on one product/service per show. (More on some of my favorite podcasts in a few days.)

So, she is all over the web. She has some of her cell phone pictures up at ambermac.textamerica.com and, of course, like any upstanding young person, she has some of her photos at Flickr.

Do you feel a little bit like the voyeur by looking at her photos? Is it all okay because, after all, Amber put them out there for you?

We know all the ink and pixels that MySpace, Facebook and the rest have gotten in the past six months. Older folks (I'm in that age group) seem to be freaked out by what kids are putting up about themselves online for everyone to see. Younger Netizens seem to be very unconcerned. I'm a tween on this one. I see nothing wrong with Amber, as an example, putting part of her life out there. After all, she is a public figure and exposure is a part of promotion. And I see nothing sensational about the images she posts. (Though I can't say that about all the images at Textamerica and Flickr - and I should add that you can "flag" photos that you find objectionable at both of those sites and help the services keep the smut out). I'm sure part of her reason for having images up there was to test/research the service. It's her job. I'm guilty of it.

If I was Amber's father, I suspect I'd feel differently about it. I have two college-aged sons and they have things online and I'm unconcerned. Nothing crazy (that I know of anyway) but I'm OK with it. Double standard? Absolutely. I willingly admit to that. And I think that's something that doesn't get much media attention.

Go ahead, look at Amber's pictures. Go ahead, blame me for linking to them and posting one here. I'll claim that it's all in the interest of furthering inquiry by you, dear reader.