In light of this week's LexisNexis Data Breach report, it's worthwhile to explore the true value and usefulness of this kind of data that might be stolen from you. Sensitive, personal data (PII, or "Personally Identifiable Data") is usually protected, but no protection is guaranteed if outside your complete control in any way – most people should assume their most-used data reflecting their personal identity (like SSNs, tel #s, DOB) is already public , if not already being used illegimately.  Where you drive, what you buy, who you meet with, your outwardly-visible or audible physical characteristics – this information is already public in many ways, as well as captured through commercial or government systems to some degree. This is particularly true the older you are, or the more active you are using this information on the Internet (regardless of standard firewall, encryption, VPN, password or other security and privacy protections leveraged). However, a...

This is some professional perspective and analysis regarding a recent campaign to raise donation capital through crowdsourced funding tools available on KickStarter.  At the end of the day, the campaign was not funded, and didn't reach its goals (From $100K to $1M).  Not that it didn't have a chance, and wasn't backed by some very savvy and knowledgeable product designers/developers - the failure was all about Marketing 101. Note – this is actually a prediction, halfway through the initial campaign – as measured by the stats and trends so far, and the very predictable performance (albeit from the always-easier armchair quarterback seat). We’ll eat our shorts and donate if it actually turns around… Update 9/24 - the campaign has been pulled from Kickstarter, citing availability of operating funds now no longer necessitating crowdsourced funding....a lukewarm "save" in the face of pending campaign failure.  If you’d prefer not to read further, here’s the simpl...