Did you know that big companies are using your personal information so they can grow their business?
Since 1960, everything that we do and purchase is being watched, processed and studied. Whenever we find attractive ads that appeal to our needs, is because our consumer behavior is being observed. Twenty years later, with the development of new computerized databases and sophisticated studies, many companies have obtained much more information of customers in order to predict a future behavior and to maintain a successful business.
Data Mining is the software that companies have used to gather large amounts of lists of information and analyze them through mathematical algorithms to find out the most profitable group of consumers and what those consumers have in common, so it is easier to predict what they are going to buy. All these information is used to find the most profitable market; the one that will directly appeal to the consumers by designing attractive advertisements, based on models created when all the information was gathered.Data Mining is everywhere, and it is not only used by large companies such as Facebook, YouTube Adidas, etc., it's also used by every little business that wants to enlarge their market.
So it's not a surprise when you find out that the internet suggests what to buy, do, or who to be friends with. Your personal information (even your credit cards) is rapidly spread, and its being sold for economic and marketing purposes.
Do you think that this software is crossing the line? Do you feel like being spied?
Even if it's tottally creepy the idea of being watched by others. I can certainly affirm that since we turn on the computer to see something on internet we are being spied by companies. I watched on TED talk that a firefox software can show you how many pages are stalking you and following your information. I almost freaked out when the speaker said that just checking his email account and watching two or three videos almost 50 entities were watching each of his movements.
ReplyDeleteCertaintly, privacy is an issue for todays society, we have sold it to the best page that can make us entertained for a while. But does it really worh it? is it a big deal? I think it's a matter of society's development and as always happened before be should start to get used to it.
I agree with you, Laura. The thing here is that we, as consumers and users of technology, trust too much in everything we see, read, and purchase. What we need to know, and also educate the next generations, is that our personal information can be tracked and used in many ways; we need to be aware that the privacy policies of internet or credit cards for example, are not always what they seem to be.
DeleteNow that you talk about this, I realized that every ad that internet has suggested me, has relation with my personal likes.
ReplyDeleteIf you had not talked about this situation, I would not have noticed that it seems that our lives have been controlled since long time ago.