EOC: Week 5: WSJ Privacy

After reading this article I realize that I have a lot of information stored in multiple databases due to how often I log into different websites and how many times I give my email address to those websites. Funny thing that also happened after reading this article was that I was offered a job from one of the spy companies after I tried to research them. It seems that they looked me up automatically which allowed a recruiter to contact me. As much as I dislike being spied on, it is almost inevitable. If people really wanted to keep their privacy then they wouldn't have smartphones, emails, or anything electronic in their possession because they feel that they need it. Well in order for companies to innovate themselves, they have to know what their customer want. I believe people are startled by the idea of being spied on because they were not warned. "WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell conceded that advertisers must do better to inform customers about the tracking and mapping of online behavior." Even though we know that websites like Google tell us in the contracts that we're "suppose" to read before clicking the accept box, but companies are taking advantage of our ignorance and that is wrong. "The Journal conducted a comprehensive study that assesses and analyzes the broad array of cookies and other surveillance technology that companies are deploying on Internet users. It reveals that the tracking of consumers has grown both far more pervasive and far more intrusive than is realized by all but a handful of people in the vanguard of the industry." If you want to protect yourself, always do the right thing and be careful with what you say on the internet and over the  phone.

WSJ article:
WHAT THEY KNOW JULY 30, 2010
The Web's New Gold Mine: Your Secrets