There is nothing wrong in being cautious when submitting your Personal Data on the Internet.
Facebook and Google are two of the biggest names on the internet today. What lots of people don’t know is how these websites who don’t sell anything can possibly make so much money.
The answer is advertising. But it goes a little bit deeper than that.
How Deep Does It Go?
The commodity that both Facebook and Google have in common is you, the users. These websites pay attention to the things that you like and dislike, which allows them to tailor ads to fit your taste and then to put those ads in bold colours right on your screen. That’s how these companies earn billions of dollars revenue annually: by working with companies to make sure you see the right ads that persuade you to go and buy their products.
Shouldn’t I Get Some Privacy on The Internet?
Lots of people wonder whether tracking their internet activity isn’t a violation of their privacy. The issue is that by using these services you’ve already given your consent for the sites to log and use most of your information.
You know those long, complicated user agreements that most of us just pass right over so we can finish setting up our accounts? If you read Facebook’s a little more carefully you find all sorts of things. For instance, if you don’t opt out of their advertising program then your name and profile image can be used to promote ads for pages you’ve liked. Additionally, information about your online activity can be sold, provided Facebook doesn’t give your name or other, more personal information out. What you like and the events that get your attention is all fair game.
While Facebook is a huge source of information, Google might be called the king of data mining. The search engine analyses what’s sent over Gmail and searched for on Google in order to determine what is trending at the moment. This information is then used to target ads and to try and get client products in front of a buying audience.
So What’s The Big Deal?
Data mining is primarily used for sales and advertising, but it can be used for more than that. Data mining can create a digital profile that makes it possible to assess job candidates, whether someone should be awarded custody of his or her children, or even (if some apps are to be believed) if someone is cheating on their spouse.
That’s the big deal regarding data mining, and Google and Facebook are at the forefront of the practice. It’s why many people who have realized how exposed social networking makes them have opted to share less and less of their information with the online community as well as the corporations who run it. It’s hard to maintain their privacy, but one of the chief methods they use is by giving away as little as they possibly can.
Learn more about information on online privacy, and how you can make changes to take extra caution, contact us today!
Recent Comments