Are You User 927?

We now live in a society where privacy is becoming harder to hold onto and you may be surprised how much of your own information is getting out that you wouldn't even realize could be traced back to you. This new world of where what you search for on the internet can become public knowledge is reflected in the play "User 927." This play is being produced in Philadelphia, but it is set in the Midwest and while it is a fictional play, like so many stories, it is based on facts.

CNN says that in 2006 AOL allowed the searches of over 650,000 of its subscribers to go public. As is common on the internet it did not take long for the blogosphere to find and distribute the list. Luckily the names of the subscribers were not released, but what was scary was that two news organizations were able to find the names of two of those subscribers based on what had been searched for.

The play is based on one of the subscribers, named User 927 by AOL. The production is centered on the fact that no one has been able to identify User 927, an internet user who surfed for everything from mold on humans to flowers and slow dancing to rape.

The search terms of User 927 for a three month period has many people wondering what their own search items say about them. I pulled up my own search history and had to giggle a little at my own searches but as I look at the wide spectrum of search terms I would have to say that it does fit me pretty well.

The most embarrassing is the recent search for "Bret Michaels and Ambre" to see if they were still dating. What's more embarrassing? That I searched for it in the first place or that I knew how to spell her name?

I have several searches for fast food restaurants such as McDonald's, Taco Bell and Sonic because I have been watching my weight and when we know we are going to eat out I have been searching the menus online for the best caloric option.

Real estate for Missouri is found in many different ways as I search for land in our area or homes to move onto the land we have now. These search terms ranged from "Used mobile homes in Missouri" to "environmental community Missouri".

Another recent search term is "United States Horoscope 2008". I remember being disappointed because I mostly found horoscopes for 2007 or before. It seems there are some discrepancies as to when the US was "born" for there to be accurate horoscopes. I was searching for this to see what was said for this year because of the economy and gas prices.

I also have many searches for recipes, frugal living, and gardening as well as terms related to articles I am writing or websites I am working on like "cost of hybrid" and "free books online" or "shaw rugs" and "concrete design". There are also many searches for things like "engine hoist" or "oreilly auto parts" as I look up items for my husband.

Are you what you search for is the question behind the Brat Productions play, "User 927". I would have to say that I'm not sure what someone would think of the person behind the searches if they just saw what I have searched for in the last month but when I look at it I see almost every aspect of my life played out

http://consumerist.com/assets/resources/2006/08/user927.txt

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/06/09/online.search.play.ap/?iref=mpstoryview