Likewise, has anyone been surprised this
data can be available for harvest by the likes of Cambridge Analytical in order
to help formulate marketing strategies aimed at influencing what we buy, where we
go and even how we vote?
I have not read the Facebook Terms and
Conditions. I have simply assumed that anything I post on Facebook is available
to everyone and anyone.
And it is not just what we voluntarily
post on Facebook that builds our blueprint.
Have you ever completed one of those
quirky quizzes that present from time to time?
Just for fun, have you answered the 10
questions to test your knowledge of movies made in the 50’s or to see how many
songs you can identify from the opening lyric.
Then there s the one challenging us to
name the car maker from their logo.
There is the 21 questions to test you
basic maths knowledge and my favourite of all, 10 questions to determine if you
are a narcissist.
All good fun however, my assumption is
such quizzes only add to the information “they” have about us and allow greater
potential to target market us based on a more comprehensive data base about us.
Thankfully, the saving grace is that
Facebook is free.
We “tell all” when it comes to our
shopping habits too.
Who has a Woolworths card, the orange
piece of plastic scanned at the time of purchasing in Woolworths and associated
outlets?
This is anther way we provide valuable
data about “us” to business. Every scan of the card tells Woolworths what we
have purchased. It is the same with Flybuys and other scannable loyalty cards.
Retailers are building a profile of our
shopping habits. Maybe I buy most my groceries from Woolworths or Coles however
not all. They can then target market me with details about their prices for
these products or special offers.
If you doubt me, perform your own
experiment. If you usually shop at Woolworths, over the next month separate
your fresh food purchases so they are not included in the purchase linked to
the scan of your card.
Woolworths will identify your change in
buying habits and as a result, I expect you will be marketed to in a way that
encourages you to purchase fresh produce from them. After all, they have your
e-mail address.
The cost of this experiment may be fewer
opportunities to receive a fuel discount.
Thankfully, Woolworths and other retail
loyalty programmes are free.
Fortunately, not all our purchases are
aligned to a loyalty programme.
I note with interest, free WIFI being
available at some shopping centres. I have also noticed free WIFI being
available at various airports around the world and on public transport.
Free WIFI is great. When shopping, we can
save our mobile data and when at international airports, the valuable an
expensive international roaming data can be preserved.
Using the WIFI at a shopping centre
allows our movements to be tracked including the shops we visit and how much
time we stay at each. It is similar at airports too and all of our data, is
valuable data to someone else. Remember, we had to register to use it.
Is it any different on public transport?
Surely nothing we do when using free
WIFI on a train is of any use. They already know what we are doing when we use
our travel card to tag on and off at the start and end of our journey.
What I do know is I have to register to
use free railway provided or facilitated WIFI and assume any site I visit while
using it will be recorded.
However, because I have not read the terms
and conditions of use I have no idea if that data about me can be sold or used
to generate marketing campaign aimed at me.
Yet again, it is good that it is free.
Although, I am also reminded of the
saying:
If you don’t pay for the product, you are the product.
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