safety

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Why tweeting my movements isn’t a safety risk

10 May 2012 in Internet, Politics by Stilgherrian | 5 comments

[Update 2.25pm: Comments on Twitter have persuaded me to emphasise that the question here is specifically about "personal safety" only, and my personal safety at that. As the second-last paragraph says, the risk profile might not be the same for everyone. These are the choices I've made with open eyes.]

“How do you think that tweeting your day plans affects your personal safety?” asked Ravneel Chand a short time ago. Overall, I reckon it actually increases my safety. Here’s why.

Background first. Here’s today’s “daily plan” tweet which, like those on pretty much every other day, is tweeted shortly before I settle down to work.

Thu plan: Bump out Waratah Cottage; 1032 train to Sydney; lunch (where?); errand Newtown/Enmore; write something; evening TBA.

Later in the morning I mentioned that I’d be catching a later train. And then, just as I left the house:

Mobile: Cab, shortly, to Wentworth Falls; 1132 train to Sydney Central; train to Town Hall station; 1335 walk to SEKRIT hotel and check in.

Clearly the fear being expressed is that by knowing my movements some bad person could more easily do me harm. But let’s do a proper risk assessment. You start one of those by enumerating the risks, and then you look at how this additional information might change those risks.

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The Marvel of Flight, at $3 a go

11 May 2007 in Business, Transparency by Stilgherrian | 2 comments

Photo of a jet contrail in a clear blue sky

Some Australian airlines announced record-low $3 airfares this month. But do you really want to travel on an airline where you contribute so little money to pre-flight checks and other maintenance tasks…?

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