WWW 20th birthday – Internet Profiling Concerns
March 14, 2009
Today is the 20th aniversary of the World Wide Web. One of the founders Tim Berners-Lee reinforced a common concern amoung security and privacy activists about the amount of “snooping” on the net. Google will be launching it’s new “interest based” advertising program among it’s network which includes the popular Youtube site.
Soon we will probably be subjected to embedded commercials and advertising just like we do on tv when we watch a online video. I guess the most important thing is that we have accepted the Term of Service across many communities and sites that we use without question and in many of them this collection of our information and thier ability to use it was granted.
My concerns lie in my researching because if those famous programmers begin writing search algorythems that match what I am searching for with content from the highest paying advertiser that the results could be less or more relevant – we just don’t know yet. To me this is like wanting to shop at Neiman Marcus and asking my husband to drive me and he keeps dropping me off at Target. The potential influence of the search engines could be huge in the online shopping market.
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