information

I want to report a leader of this group anonymously we are in a FtM group on Facebook and he told several members of the group to "go off yourselves" over a disagreement where people were trying to respectfully disagree. I have a screen shot of the posting I think it is important that the people of this group know what kind of person Blackhawke really is. He's the type who would tell other transmen to off themselves because we disagree and would call us "violent fucks" No one in this thread condoned any violence we all just disagreed on a word. Weither or not you agree with him or the other members of the group it is never ok to tell people to "go off" themselves. 

One of the themes I'm hearing over and over again is that we're
moving toward a single online identity. Information has begun to pile up
closer and closer together. The Internet has been a point of learning
and connection for the trans communities for years. We discover facets
of our identities, find trans positive services, and those of us in more
isolated areas connect with the larger community for support.

To me, the idea of our online identity's solidifying has possible
direct implications for the trans communities. We already know that
human resources reps do Web searches on candidates, and the idea that we
should "just not say anything we don't want others to know" doesn't
necessarily hold water in our cases.

A lot of us use the Web for community building and information sharing. Here are just some of the ways I can think of:

• Trans related blogs, especially from voices that don't get air time in the mainstream LGB-T media
• Compiling information about physicians, counselors, and other service providers who work with us
• Rating those service providers
• Putting out dates and times for conferences, support groups, and other community events.

What do you think about our lives, the role the Internet plays in
growing our community, and protecting our information in this age where
information is increasingly bought and sold without transparency? I see
us as an untapped market, so part of the reason I'm asking is to start a
conversation about how to guard and grow our information in the future.

This week in Seattle is Geek Week (August 13th-22nd), and part of
this week's events is a conference devoted to exploring privacy,
technology, and access to information. I'm here to understand what's
going on now, trending topics, and how these movements in privacy affect
the trans community.

We have a great need to protect the privacy
of our information for a variety of  obvious reasons. Information is
currency now, both literally and figuratively. In my mind, it would be
beneficial for the trans community to understand this and not get left
behind. We are making gains in the legal realm. I think this shows that
we're starting to take control of the words and concepts used to define
us. The next step in this evolution is to broaden this out and make sure
that we begin to control who profits from our lives and experiences.

I'll have more as the conference goes on...

Lincoln