I have never met Mark, but I feel I know him well. From following his blog over the past four years, receiving his Tweets and occasionally checking his Facebook page, I have learned what I presume to be virtually everything there is to know about him. From his postings, I have a sound sense of his likes, dislikes, hates and fears. With a fair degree of accuracy, I can second-guess his music and movie choices, which restaurant he will go to for dinner and his next holiday destination.
At any given time of day or night, I have a good idea where Mark - not his real name - is. I know that he is moderately wealthy, has a Filipino girlfriend whom he met in a Wan Chai bar and has a taste for Shenzhen massages. Without difficulty, I can show you where he lives, reveal the type, model and colour of his car and, if needs be, find out his mother's address. I even know how many tattoos he has and where they are on his body.
My interest in Mark would seem to be more than casual. There may appear to be a measure of voyeuristic intent in the way I follow his activities. Even as I write this, I have to agree that this all sounds creepy. If you're reading this, Mark, please understand that I have no ill will towards you or your property; that I read you because I like your style of writing and find your life interesting.
Of course, I could well be the exception. I know from the page views and comments posted to the various internet sites that I am just one of a number of Mark's followers. Some of the remarks point towards people who are not so enamoured with him. Anyone jealous of his circumstances would, I believe, have little difficulty breaking into his home when he is out of town - a quick look at photographs posted to his blog can easily confirm this - and make off with some of his rare music memorabilia, his wall-sized plasma television or expensive camera equipment.
To prove that I am not devious of mind, this did not occur to me until I encountered the website pleaserobme.com at the weekend. Using information from the social networking site foursquare.com, which lets people share information about their whereabouts, it produces a list of people who are not at home. Whether they are in Tokyo, Seoul or New York, it takes just a little internet research to get an address. With a smattering of knowledge of burglary techniques, I imagine all manner of ill-gotten gains are up for grabs.
Mark is, after all, not a rarity - a quick scan of social networking sites and blogs reveals an alarming number of similarly minded people with lax regard for safeguarding personal information. Whether because of a love of writing, a need to share information with friends and relatives or merely a planet-sized ego, they seem to think that they can let slip all manner of details along with their opinions and images. They clearly do not realise that the world is watching them. Along with those who have been 'friended', and casual readers, may be lurking teachers, employers and thieves.