What does Facebook and every other app that demands the ability to read everything you own, take pictures on your phone without your knowledge or consent have to do with price discrimination? Read and think.
I have been warned about Facebook tracking my web searches tons of time. It’s what makes me make the effort to log out of all social media and email as I am searching through the internet. Even though I have nothing to hide I still don’t find it anyone’s business what I’m shopping or searching for. I have noticed a lot of clever and personalized ads as I search the internet though. I spend a lot of time on the Barnes and Noble website ordering books for school and I see often, when I’m on Facebook or other sites, advertisements for the AP Psychology or AP Calculus review book, similar to the one I just bought. It became evident then that these anonymous websites that had nothing to do what review book I bought, were somehow getting this kind of information. If they have disclosed the fact that they are getting this kind of information, who knows what information that they are getting that they haven’t disclosed. The internet is a big and scary place that you can’t always trust anymore. Which is why I make the effort to clear my history whenever I can and log out of all social media while searching the internet. Also so I don’t get tempted into buying a bunch of review books and other items from all of these personalized ads. :) - Avneet K pd 5
This article was pretty informative and its nice to know how to protect your search privacy. Seeing a record of my Google history made me realize how much advertisers could learn about my tastes in entertainment, clothing, cars, etc. I don't really mind having personalized ads, especially if it means I'll see more ads for things I'm interested in, but it is weird to think that every single thing I have ever searched while logged into my Google account has been recorded. Google's data collection allows advertisers to create more effective ads, which is good from a business standpoint, but current events show how that kind of bulk data collection can be abused.
The concept of pricing based on targeted information acquired from any online service is unethical, but very efficient and very amaze, such facebook. Regardless, companies such as doge that are able to capitalize on such research and can make bank. These types of schemes put the average consumer in the hands of the company and as a result leave the rest of us in a state of turmoil.
Google is taking over the world, and anyone who says otherwise hasn't seen it yet. They have the money, power and size to successfully dive into any market that they please. They have smartphones, email, the biggest search engine, internet service, cloud storage, etc. The fact that they have the power to give our information for advertising firms to manipulate what we see should be illegal but the law will never catch up with technology, especially not with our current congress. I doubt that anything monumentally privacy breaking will happen with our search history but better safe than sorry. -ZL
The issue of large Internet companies recording search results and web-searching habits is really more of a debate over the reality of privacy in the Internet-era. This debate is truly a fascinating one, an issue about the proper balance of fear and trust. However, the applications of big data are far more complex and subtle than espionage and covert activities. I do believe that big data has incredible business potential. The data collected by Facebook, Twitter, Google, etc. is invaluable to online businesses seeking to better target customers. It is likely that businesses, seeking to maximize profit, will use big data for price discrimination. Big data will help businesses get information on customers' willingness to pay. Web-browsing history, more so than any other traditional demographic such as age or race, allows for better predictions of customer's habits.
I've noticed that many of the advertisements displayed to me on websites has applied to my interests. Perhaps I should be worried about issues of privacy, but oddly enough, this is not my primary concern. My issue with these advertisements is that they apply TOO well to me. It can be quite distracting to be browsing a website for some kind of school purpose and see an advertisement from one of my favorite shops in the background. One moment I'm reading about Oedipus, the next moment I'm looking through Alternative Apparel's entire clothing catalogue.
In all seriousness though, I have mixed feelings. I don't think it's inherently bad to have advertising that would interest the consumer. I would much rather look at advertisements for Free People than advertisements for "TWO WEEK WRINKLE REMOVER PROVEN BY MINNESOTAN MOTHER." These advertisments are worth more of my time and attention, and quite frankly they are more aesthetically pleasing than many of the generic ads which use poorly edited photos or monotonous lists of links.
On the other hand, I don't like the idea that there is little control in what you are shown. This could lead to uncomfortable situations. For example, let's say your nephew uses the computer and looks up some toys online. The websites think you like children's toys, and your webpages are filled with Playmobil and Lego. Or even worse. Let's say you're looking up something you WOULDN'T want people to see, maybe something like hemerrhoid cream. Next thing you know, someone's borrowing your computer, all their webpages are filled with advertisements for hemerrhoid creams, and all you can do is sit in embarrassment.
It's a rough world out there in terms of privacy, and we're probably going to lose more and more of it overtime.
I thought this article really touched home in that it really showed us how we as consumers of many products receive very little privacy. Our every click, search, and surf history is saved and recorded by these search engines. This information is logged and then sold to companies for targeted advertisement to us. While this may seem intrusive on privacy, I also feel that this does help with providing quality advertisement to the consumers. Instead of getting random ads, we would get target specific ads that many people would actually buy products for. It's smart advertising in that companies are minimizing the money spent on ads and having these search engines target specific people that would actually buy their products, as compared to wasting on money on people who wouldn't even look twice at the product ad. I think it's smart play on both the producer's part and the search engines part. The subtle marketing techniques on reaching the consumer.
This is a debate between what is moral and what is practical. The data and records that large companies can gain from understanding a group of individuals preferences and consumer tastes can easily lead to new doors for large profits. For example, if everyone began making posts about gym memberships, gym companies could make effective use of their resources by making Facebook adds available to people interested in joining a gym. This can undoubtedly increase enrollments in the gym, since people are constantly on Facebook and often pay attention to the adds that come up on the side. I know I do.
Do I think it should be considered an invasion of privacy? Not really. I say this because companies do not have access to any major information of mine. If they had access to information like my credit card number or my social security, then I would consider that a huge case of an invasion of privacy, but in this case, they don't. Of course, I would not like the idea of being bombarded with adds every 5 seconds. However, companies like Facebook and Twitter put a limit on that. Many times, the ads are not in our face, but are on the margins of the webpage, making them less annoying.
I have been warned about Facebook tracking my web searches tons of time. It’s what makes me make the effort to log out of all social media and email as I am searching through the internet. Even though I have nothing to hide I still don’t find it anyone’s business what I’m shopping or searching for. I have noticed a lot of clever and personalized ads as I search the internet though. I spend a lot of time on the Barnes and Noble website ordering books for school and I see often, when I’m on Facebook or other sites, advertisements for the AP Psychology or AP Calculus review book, similar to the one I just bought. It became evident then that these anonymous websites that had nothing to do what review book I bought, were somehow getting this kind of information. If they have disclosed the fact that they are getting this kind of information, who knows what information that they are getting that they haven’t disclosed. The internet is a big and scary place that you can’t always trust anymore. Which is why I make the effort to clear my history whenever I can and log out of all social media while searching the internet. Also so I don’t get tempted into buying a bunch of review books and other items from all of these personalized ads. :) - Avneet K pd 5
ReplyDeleteThis article was pretty informative and its nice to know how to protect your search privacy. Seeing a record of my Google history made me realize how much advertisers could learn about my tastes in entertainment, clothing, cars, etc. I don't really mind having personalized ads, especially if it means I'll see more ads for things I'm interested in, but it is weird to think that every single thing I have ever searched while logged into my Google account has been recorded. Google's data collection allows advertisers to create more effective ads, which is good from a business standpoint, but current events show how that kind of bulk data collection can be abused.
ReplyDeleteThe concept of pricing based on targeted information acquired from any online service is unethical, but very efficient and very amaze, such facebook. Regardless, companies such as doge that are able to capitalize on such research and can make bank. These types of schemes put the average consumer in the hands of the company and as a result leave the rest of us in a state of turmoil.
ReplyDeleteGoogle is taking over the world, and anyone who says otherwise hasn't seen it yet. They have the money, power and size to successfully dive into any market that they please. They have smartphones, email, the biggest search engine, internet service, cloud storage, etc. The fact that they have the power to give our information for advertising firms to manipulate what we see should be illegal but the law will never catch up with technology, especially not with our current congress. I doubt that anything monumentally privacy breaking will happen with our search history but better safe than sorry.
ReplyDelete-ZL
The issue of large Internet companies recording search results and web-searching habits is really more of a debate over the reality of privacy in the Internet-era. This debate is truly a fascinating one, an issue about the proper balance of fear and trust. However, the applications of big data are far more complex and subtle than espionage and covert activities. I do believe that big data has incredible business potential. The data collected by Facebook, Twitter, Google, etc. is invaluable to online businesses seeking to better target customers. It is likely that businesses, seeking to maximize profit, will use big data for price discrimination. Big data will help businesses get information on customers' willingness to pay. Web-browsing history, more so than any other traditional demographic such as age or race, allows for better predictions of customer's habits.
ReplyDeleteI've noticed that many of the advertisements displayed to me on websites has applied to my interests. Perhaps I should be worried about issues of privacy, but oddly enough, this is not my primary concern. My issue with these advertisements is that they apply TOO well to me. It can be quite distracting to be browsing a website for some kind of school purpose and see an advertisement from one of my favorite shops in the background. One moment I'm reading about Oedipus, the next moment I'm looking through Alternative Apparel's entire clothing catalogue.
ReplyDeleteIn all seriousness though, I have mixed feelings. I don't think it's inherently bad to have advertising that would interest the consumer. I would much rather look at advertisements for Free People than advertisements for "TWO WEEK WRINKLE REMOVER PROVEN BY MINNESOTAN MOTHER." These advertisments are worth more of my time and attention, and quite frankly they are more aesthetically pleasing than many of the generic ads which use poorly edited photos or monotonous lists of links.
On the other hand, I don't like the idea that there is little control in what you are shown. This could lead to uncomfortable situations. For example, let's say your nephew uses the computer and looks up some toys online. The websites think you like children's toys, and your webpages are filled with Playmobil and Lego. Or even worse. Let's say you're looking up something you WOULDN'T want people to see, maybe something like hemerrhoid cream. Next thing you know, someone's borrowing your computer, all their webpages are filled with advertisements for hemerrhoid creams, and all you can do is sit in embarrassment.
It's a rough world out there in terms of privacy, and we're probably going to lose more and more of it overtime.
Ellen Cooper, Pd. 5
I thought this article really touched home in that it really showed us how we as consumers of many products receive very little privacy. Our every click, search, and surf history is saved and recorded by these search engines. This information is logged and then sold to companies for targeted advertisement to us. While this may seem intrusive on privacy, I also feel that this does help with providing quality advertisement to the consumers. Instead of getting random ads, we would get target specific ads that many people would actually buy products for. It's smart advertising in that companies are minimizing the money spent on ads and having these search engines target specific people that would actually buy their products, as compared to wasting on money on people who wouldn't even look twice at the product ad. I think it's smart play on both the producer's part and the search engines part. The subtle marketing techniques on reaching the consumer.
ReplyDelete-William Chung
This is a debate between what is moral and what is practical. The data and records that large companies can gain from understanding a group of individuals preferences and consumer tastes can easily lead to new doors for large profits. For example, if everyone began making posts about gym memberships, gym companies could make effective use of their resources by making Facebook adds available to people interested in joining a gym. This can undoubtedly increase enrollments in the gym, since people are constantly on Facebook and often pay attention to the adds that come up on the side. I know I do.
ReplyDeleteDo I think it should be considered an invasion of privacy? Not really. I say this because companies do not have access to any major information of mine. If they had access to information like my credit card number or my social security, then I would consider that a huge case of an invasion of privacy, but in this case, they don't. Of course, I would not like the idea of being bombarded with adds every 5 seconds. However, companies like Facebook and Twitter put a limit on that. Many times, the ads are not in our face, but are on the margins of the webpage, making them less annoying.