Today I'm going to talk about two articles.
First, the chapter from Numerati. The first thing I liked was the definition of a "cookie", I honestly never knew what they were, and was kind of happy when later that night I had a website warn me that I had cookies disabled. I left it that way. I also found the concept of webmovers who move in group which are in sync was interesting in that it seems like in the end all this change may come back to demographics, just different ones. Being a Navy pilot I also found the research on p300 interesting. Like other articles have mentioned though, it seems incomplete. That we are looking for humans to not only process the data but to act on it. I also was a little disturbed at the thought that personalized data could be used to appeal to people who wanted anything, to include suicide bombers. It seems like some companies (fertilizers maybe?) would find this appealing and that regulations are lagging far behind the technological wave. I also wonder how much the shifting moves that are mentioned will make alot of this data far less useful.
The second article I will talk about is the smartphone. I did notice after reading this that I do get adds for San Diego companies through my Iphone app's. I also found it interesting that again digital innovation may be pushing the bubble with privacy invasions. I liked the fact that some apps email buyers their legalese, but it seems like legalese itself is so overdone that nobody reads it for anything. Maybe its time for a law making the small print large and to the point. I also found the apps that can locate you down to an aisle of a grocery store to be a little ambitious. My GPS on my phone is nowhere near that accurate. I also started wondering if I have a problem with getting adds that are based on my data. I like the idea of getting adds which interest me, but in the modern world it does make me nervous of identity theft and other identity based crimes. I also like the fact at the end that none of this applies yet because there aren't enough smartphone users. Maybe its just where I live, but that fact seems very outdated.
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Good comments. I agree that the legal disclaimers being included in ads, on web sites, and seemingly everywhere are not worth much. Many radio ads today (say for a new care loan program) will include a 100 word disclaimer at the end. These disclaimers are put through a software program that speeds up the voice of the announcer without creating the high-pitched cartoon-like effect. The result is a disclaimer that is impossible to understand. This is an example of meeting the letter of the law, but not the spirit.
ReplyDeleteI install a lot of software on my computer. The agreements are so long and convoluted that I almost always check "accept." Also, what's the alternative. I paid $$$ for the software - if I don't accept, then I can't use it. The disclaimer usually comes after I've broken the shrink wrap - which means I couldn't get my money back anyways.
Frank