<a href="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/facebook-logoapr18.jpg"><img class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-4909" src="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/facebook-logoapr18-200x151.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="151" /></a>Am I gullible? Possibly but I like to think I have trust in humanity. Up until now I've considered it unimportant how I share basic data about myself however I now believe my naivety and trust is being abused. Who would be interested in me? Well it seems anyone who has enough money to pay to analyse millions of people's preferences and personalities; then use that information to influence how we vote and ultimately how we think - Big Brother has become Big Data. My Facebook account was only ever used for demonstration purposes when I did IT Workshops however it did contain certain details about my status and location. From the simplest of information experts using algorithms and heuristics can determine a great deal about us and how we might be influenced. Today I deleted my Facebook account. Watch <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b09x5k4y/click-who-has-your-data" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BBC Click to learn more...</a>

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<a href="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/flooded-footpathapr18.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-4911" src="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/flooded-footpathapr18-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>On a totally different tack the Easter weekend is becoming as bizarrely commercial as Christmas. So what did I do on the only other day in the year when supermarkets are not open? I went for a walk - I need to get out more. My 4,5 mile walk almost became a swim as many of the paths were flooded.

I had to take a very circuitous route to get round this one. The footpath is usually down the centre of this photograph and you might be fooled into thinking I had stumbled into a mangrove swamp.

<a href="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/beech-woodapr18.jpg"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-4910" src="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/beech-woodapr18-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /></a>It wasn't all this bad. Further along the path through the beech trees was more sheltered and the footpath better drained.

The benefit of a good walk is that it stimulates the body and the mind. There were very few people around and it gave me time to think about the state of the planet. In the past we would worry about physical wars and now it is more important to be aware of the war of words that goes on around us all the time. This is true for social media as well as the Murdoch press. The media generally don't tell lies however by focussing on some stories rather than others they subtly influence our views.