Kanye Who?

Oh I love modern life, don’t you?

Kanye West, whoever that may be, has released a song with Sir Paul McCartney about his son North (Yes really) sired with Kim Kardashian, who is some sort of reality TV star on a channel, let alone a program, I have never watched. His many fans took to Twitter to congratulate young Kanye for sponsoring new talent and wondering who this bloke McCartney was.

Hilarious, right? In what version of this world is it possible to reach adulthood without at least knowing who Macca is? I mean, even a high court judge is likely to have heard of Liverpool’s favourite son these days.

However, this may be a salutary lesson about the power and reach of information. 

You only know what you know, and if you do not go out of your way to become informed, you are not likely to pick up the information you need. So as I listen to Radio Two and Four in the car and only vaguely know what Spotify is, I am highly unlikely to come across Kanye. I had sort of heard of him, but never listened to a song and have no desire to do so, although that Ed Sheeran bloke seems to write a nifty tune.

My point, and you knew I had one, is that no one can take for granted that their information is getting out there. No one has ever done enough. And the amount of serious data breaches in 2014 and the level of apathy concerning data security I encounter most days is living proof. People do not get how serious this stuff is, except perhaps Angelina Jolie. Who would have guessed she had an ego the size of Australia if Sony hadn’t leaked like a sieve?

I have said before that there is too much stick and not enough carrot here. Fining the negligent is all well and good but how about educating the apathetic? If HMG can afford to tell us all how our taxes are being spent, on a printed leaflet, surely they (as in the government) can provide some definitive advice to businesses large and small on how to do this stuff? It is not rocket science.

Too much time is spent at the top level, getting very technical about system controls and big ticket projects to stop North Korea ruining the seventh Star Wars film, and not enough telling the Insurance Broker in the High Street that his livelihood is at stake if he doesn’t do A, B and C.