Thread by @wolfejosh

1/ Here is a hypothesis + a provocation:

One way we come up with ideas is to observe what everyone else knows to be true—that maybe just aint so.

This means a thought experiment intentionally imagining an extreme, improbable, absurdist position...

2/ What does everyone agree we need (more of) today—whether by choice or regulatory decree?

PRIVACY. ENCRYPTION. GDPR.

BUT—what if it there was an directional arrow of progress that pointed to privacy still mattering—but just WAY LESS?

3/ OBSERVATION 1: Generational.

Young people born into a world of sharing + oversharing (photos, location, relationship status, resumes, vacations—& most recently a public feed of payments who is paying who + how much(Venmo)...

3a/ —a recent story noted an ex-boyfriend lurking on his ex-girlfriend Venmo payment feed + saw payment for “ring re-sizing” and knew she had just got engaged...

4/ OBSERVATION 2: Taboo Normalization

As things once taboo become normalized, people share, MORE.

Consider just 2 things people in the past invested lots of energy to HIDE + keep PRIVATE + SECRET which they now comfortably if not proudly share:

homosexuality, mental health.

5/ OBSERVATION 3:
”Transparent Tails” vs. “Covert Curve”

There’s a bifurcation of privacy at the tails.

At one end: the Young & Richless (poor) care less about revealing.

Many joke + self-depricatingly commiserate that they are ‘dead-ass broke’.

6a/ At the other extreme are the 0.1% rich

Let’s say a caricatured version of Leon Black @ Apollo

Forbes publicly reports + reveals his wealth—let’s roughly say it’s $2.4Billion

Let’s say he also reveals he just spent ~$110M on a Picasso...

6b/ Would he care if there was a public display
(like the National Debt Clock) of his net-worth?

As long as the funds are SECURE—who cares?

Same with Elon. You can see his public holdings + that he is massively indebted.

The uber rich openly SIGNAL their actual wealth

6c/
The ONLY people who care are those whose status is threatened by revelation—

the “massive middle”, the “covert curve”

Those who fake it or whose status or SIGNALING of status would be threatened if truth revealed they in truth had less $ or more debt than they represented

7/ OBSERVATION 4: Other countries/cultures

In US we prize privacy.
In some countries everyone knows everything about everyone—including salaries

Notably GDPR began in Germany
Merkel grew up in E. Berlin under Stasi

a thrust to privacy was natural directional counter-reaction

8/ In seeking disconforming evidence I learned a tidbit from friend who advised a large public co that surveyed customers to find discount on their monthly bills they’d need to give up privacy + allow collection of their data....

I guessed: $10 off their mo bill...

9/ To even my surprise it WAS $10...a year.

Many people are willing to give up their data...for less than $1 a month (!)

10/ People want privacy around 3 Bs
BATHROOM
BEDROOM (both dignity preserving)
BANK accts
That leaves health + search history

You dont want PRIVACY
You want assurance your info can’t be used against u to reduce your status or opportunities or let others have leverage over u...