What will happen to privacy?

Does anyone even care?

Posted on November 6, 2007 | Permalink

By Lane Casteix

Online privacy is an issue that concerns many - and also a non-issue that many more have not the least concern about. In a world that is ever forcing conformity and anonymity on us, we seek individuality and notice - "Look at me!" Thus we have tattoos and social network sites. In our head-long rush for notice, privacy is disappearing with the advent of social networking sites like You Tube, Myspace, and Facebook, not to mention the thousands of forums out there where one can find personal expression - and maybe 15 minutes of fame. On these sites people are pouring out information about themselves and their desires in unprecedented detail. This has marketing people salivating! "Look at me" is about to become for advertisers, "I see you. Now, you LOOK at me!"

Your activity on the internet is not anonymous. Advertisers have taken notice - and are taking notes. They are prepared to track your every move, and most of us don't even seem to care. Myspace plans to track everything you do on their site and offer ads tailored just for little-old-you. This is called behavioral marketing and is how advertisers plan to reach you with ads so targeted they are aimed at ONE person - YOU! Advertising dollars are currently vacating traditional media, because behavioral marketing promises incredible ROI (return on investment) with little of the waste often associated with mass media.

These social media sites (and who knows who else?) will know more about you and your habits than maybe even you know about yourself. The question is how do you feel about that loss of privacy?