http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/30/technology/30adstalk.html?ref=internet
I have posted a link to the article that I am writing a response to. The article talks about "retargeting" which is when web sites that people have been on go on to put custom web advertisements on the other sites they browse. It also descibes how detailed and precise it is to give the consumer a personal, and hopefully more effective online advertisment. What I took from this however is the disturbing feeling of a virtual big brother looming over my head. As I write this blog post right now, perhaps, some one is watching my activity.
I have been well informed about the dangers of posting too much information on sites like this and others like facebook or myspace, because you never know who could stumble upon your page. But this takes stalking to a new level where companies track my behavior and spits it back out in my face. The article Retargeting Ads Follow Surfers to Other Sites mentions how google takes what you have looked at through their sites and use "behavioral targeting" to judge what kind of person you are and what would interest you in advertisements. What is even more disturbing is the fact that this isn't new technology. Cookies on your computer is whats giving people a window to your online life! Companies have had this information about people for a while, it's just recently that it has been put to use. I don't know much about computers but i have a desire to research how one could possibly take these cookies off a computer.
People online beware. you may think you're alone on your computer but there is someone watching, and they want to sell you things.
It's a lot more than just cookies, I'm afraid. There really is no way to avoid targeted marketing on the internet. If you're on Facebook, for example, you can see the ads on one side are based on your interests and activities. Any website that supports itself with ad dollars uses some form of this. Google is especially huge. There are marketing companies who specialize in targeting internet ads, making sure a company shows up high on the list in a Google search, for instance. It is related to online privacy, as well, because all the information we make available is stored somewhere. It also brings up questions of how that information is used and shared.
ReplyDeleteLots to think about here!