DHH on old school tracking:

How bizarre it would have seemed back then to learn that in the future your reading habits would not only be tracked forever by Big Tech, and thus available to any agent with a subpoena, but broadcast to the world in a variety of uncomfortable ways.

I am sure you all know my thoughts on tracking things. I hate it, unless it has a clear and transparent reason. The main point of the above post is to talk about being able to follow and consume whatever content you like, but this part stuck out to me.

Even just a few years ago the very idea of being tracked about what you do would be alien. No doubt it happened in some small instances, but by and large our lives where private.

Now we give up huge chunks of our private data either because we think it’s required, or we do so willingly for the clout! There is nothing wrong with whatever data you choose to give up, that’s your choice, but how much of it is really needed and how much is collected just because it might be needed later. Kept in data centres we have no control over, just in case.