One need only research any of the well known conspiracy theories floating around the web to see this bubble in full effect. No matter how outrageous the allegation you will find dozens of sites backing it up with irrefutable facts. Of course these facts are only irrefutable because dissenting opinions are either filtered out or vociferously shouted down.

The ability for these companies to piece together a comprehensive profile of who we are just based on our web surfing habits is an effect of the digital age that we cannot escape. That being said, I believe we should take steps and precautions to prevent theft of our identity, because that would be a disastrous thing to happen.

I don’t think it’s the same set of people.  I was involved in a technical discussion in another venue and objected to some of the electronic stalking which has become routine and acceptable, and people told me the usual: ‘It’s progress, you can’t fight it, get used to it, everybody does it,’ and so on.  The general tone of their messages was ‘We’re cool and hip, and you’re an old crank.’  These people are probably not my fellow EFF members.

Anarcissie:

Yes, I always wondered about that.  People will put almost anything on Facebook, Twitters, etc., including things they may regret later.  They share intimate details of their lives, including photos, et.c Yet they scream bloody murder when their Internet use habits are tracked, and companies use that to determine pop-ups, etc.

At best, this is cognitive dissonance, at worst it is hypocritical.

Peace.

hello. advertising directly to individuals leads to
personal behavior credits, and character control.
today i am more concerned with subliminal mind
control, in the background of all internet pages.
computers may already be manipulating your actions.
they operate so much faster than human intellect, you
would never know. perhaps even before computers are
thinking for themselves, they are already in control:
with Flitter, and Bookface. it is bad enough, one day
with these consumer information targeting marketing
techniques, they will be telling you what car you
should buy: they will also tell you what city you
should be living in. if you move there, you will get
bit coins and green credits. if you do not, you will
pay a noncompliance tax. same thing to control your
food intake. aint technology swell?

Still thinking about this - in the context of “The Medium Is the Message”... for whatever that’s worth.

The interesting thing is that so many people will volunteer information about the most private, intimate aspects of their lives, often to their subsequent regret.

This is why I do not own a “smart phone,” and if I do get one, will NOT register with Facebook, Twitter, etc.  As well, I do not purchase things online (except CDs and books from Amazon), and so avoid most of the consumer-based tracking that goes on.

Anyone who has been aware of this type of invasion of privacy from the beginning knows what I’m talking about.

Peace.

Before widespread use of the internet was the norm,  it was still true, for example, that the majority of women who belonged to National Organization of Women (NOW) would not also be members of Daughters of the Revolution (DAR). It was probably true that The National Review and The Progressive, two US magazines with very different political and social viewpoints, did not have many subscribers in common. We tend to be self-selecting and, unless we are trying to know our enemies, most of us will not willingly venture into their intellectual territory.

The internet has made this human tendency seem much more alarming or even acute than it once did. But the true joy of the early internet was the opportunity to discover real gems of thought in badly made web pages that sprang up like dandelions all over the place. It was a birthday loaded with gifts every single day, because you never knew what you might find by following links wherever they took you.

That was before marketing overtook the experience. If the online marketing tactics that accompany electronic commerce make us feel coddled, it is only a side effect of the effort any business or organization makes to increase sales and improve its numbers.

We are both the target and the collateral damage all rolled into one. Pretty good trick, eh?

Still, modern browsers do have privacy settings that can be configured to limit the damage - if one so desires.

Yes, you’re being watched.  The giant corporations whose services you employ are interested in selling you stuff, and put things in front of you their algorithms calculate you want to see.  This has been going on for many years.  If your interests are narrow and your intellect is dwarfed by decades of disuse, then what you see will probably be consistent with that.  On the other hand, if you’re curious about things and willing to look at material you don’t already know about and agree with, the whole world is there.

Pariser’s complaint, and those of people like him, is an anecdotal, redundant, clichéed, and therefore pretty worthless account of a facet of the Net we already knew about (if we cared; many people don’t).  I’m sorry I wasted the minute I spent reading it.

Is this the same as if I buy something on line, and then every site I am on afterwards has advertisements for the same brand that I just bought?  At first I thought it was a coincidence.  Finally I realized that something was monitoring my use.

“The concern with personalization algorithms is that many consumers don’t understand, or may not even be aware of, the filtering methodology.”

Perhaps a disclaimer would be warranted with every search: “Results may not reflect reality.”