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Title:
Naked in Cyberspace: How To Find Personal Information Online
Review:
This book was written as a guide to researchers using the Internet to
find information on individuals. Carole Lane is a professional
researcher who has run her own company, Technosearch, since 1993 and
as such her experience makes her a well-qualified author on this
subject.
The book is divided in to four sections. The first deals with
databases, the Internet and basic searching. The second contains
information on searching for everything from friends, debtors to
competitive intelligence. The third section describes many different
types of databases available to the individual or to a suitably
qualified professional. The final section contains further reading and
lists of resources for researchers of personal information. As the
book deals with so many different types of database and reasons for
searching, it cannot be anything more than an introduction to
searching on any given subject. Researchers who take on general
assignments will find that this book has most to offer them.
Databases referred to by Lane include: Lexis-Nexis and Dialog;
credit reference files maintained by Experian; tenant databases;
driver and vehicle databases; human and robot-indexed search engines
and directories like Google and Yahoo. Basic search instructions are
given for Nexis and Dialog but the majority of the resources listed
are provided with the URL and subject(s) covered.
One of the most interesting aspects of reading this book is
comprehending the wealth of information that is potentially available
on individuals. This is not a description of a '1984' society as
information is scattered over thousands of public and private
databases rather than held and collated centrally. In 1993 Rick Gates
created the Internet Hunt and asked participants to find as much
information as they could about Ross Stapleton (with his permission).
Over the course of the hunt the teams gathered a total of 148 pieces
of information about his life, work and past times. These included his
employment by the CIA, the names of his parents and his then-fiancee,
his computer's operating system, the text of his doctorate and all of
his previous postings to a mailing list discussing privacy. This case
indicates that we only ever add to our 'data shadows'. Records about
our lives rarely disappear and can be freely available years after the
event.
'Naked in Cyberspace' has several limitations, the first being that it
is aimed almost entirely at an American audience. Information on
resources available in other countries is occasionally given but
researchers in those countries on those subjects will no doubt be
aware of these already. The other major limitation is timeliness and
is acknowledged by the author. Lane states that the book can only deal
with the major free and subscription-based databases with smaller and
niche market resources being passed over because of their limited
appeal. Other limitations include poorly spelt UK addresses and
telephone numbers given, for example '081' rather than '0208': this may
be indicative of the quality of the updating for the second edition.
Lane does provide a web site to keep readers appraised of
post-publication changes to the content of the book.
This book would be most useful for an American researcher looking for
information on American individuals. The amount of information
presented in each chapter is considerable and the book and
corresponding web site are an excellent starting point for
researchers in many areas.
FreePint Reviewer:
Stephen Lafferty has an MSc. in Library and Information Management and
has previously written on the subject of surveillance and privacy for
FreePint <http://www.freepint.com/issues/030800.htm#feature>. He is
interested in the collection and uses of information about consumers,
data security and freedom of information.
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