The Price We Pay

Andrew's piece on the proliferation of behavioral advertising and data aggregators, was nothing if not eye-opening. I always found it intriguing while online shopping at my favorite store- "Anthropologie," that all of the things I might like were suggested to me at the bottom of the page in addition to the particular item of clothing I was looking at. If I was looking at a nice blouse, full of unique prints and cuts, the bottom of the website page would suggest different pants that might look nice with the blouse. If I was looking at pants, the reverse would be true, and if I was shopping for a dress, there would be a tabe exclusively for accessorizing my new gown. Similarly, Youtube suggests lots of Ellen Degeneres clips to me because its server keeps track of the ridiculously excessive amount of Ellen clips I've watched.

There is absolutely something to be said about Andrews skepticism and discomfort towards his privacy on the Internet (or lack thereof).  Sure, it's a bit unsettling to know that the web is aware of my likes and dislikes, and tracks what I tend to watch. But ultimately, I don't think data aggregators really care about the fact that I watch too much Ellen or that I spend too much money online at Anthropologie. Like Andrews points out, behavioral advertising is just advertising. Data aggregators want to be able to cater to my desires so that I may be so inclined to buy more merchandise from their site. After all, most of the web is composed of businesses who are trying to sell as much online as they do on the sales floor. Moreover, if you don't want to participate in the world of the web to the degree many people do, then don't. Don't share much about yourself on Facebook, and don't rely on cites like Amazon or Ebay to buy books and other merchandise.

Behavioral advertising is a growing pain of the digital divide. There are still millions of individuals and societies that do not have access to a computer, let alone internet. These societies are getting left on the wrong side of the digital divide and in doing so are not only at a disadvantage in terms of having access to the world wide web, but left marginalized from the beating heart of the 21st century. The internet is here to stay and if everyone were on an equal playing field online, then data aggregators would no longer have as much "power" per say. Everyone is exposed to identity theft. At any given moment, someone could be stealing your SSN. Why not try and actively stop those thieves? The problem with identity theft, is that there is almost no accountability. It is nearly impossible to find someone to blame. Similarly, behavioral advertising and data aggregators are just part of the package.  Furthermore, They are the price we pay for having the kind of freedom we have on the internet and if this post is taken by "blogger.com" to suggest me to a thread that offers more of this kind of debate, I'm okay with it.