I have no doubt that most people will be very
shocked by the results that they receive doing this assignment. However, I’m
not really surprised at all with the accuracy that Google has predicted my
interests and the amount of data that Facebook archives. I will never be
surprised when I see the amount of effort that businesses put in to try to make
a profit. If I was in their position, my stance would be that if we have the
means to do it, then why not? Every business is looking for that added edge
which will make them better than their competitors. In Google’s case, they want
to maximize the effectiveness of their advertisement spots. With Facebook, they want to store as much
information as possible in the even t that it will be useful to them with
future enhancements to their site. I am completely fine with both of these
positions. Most importantly, you aren’t forced to go online and subject
yourself to these companies trying to learn more about you. If you don’t like
it, then don’t go on the internet. The internet is very useful to humanity and
democracy, as we have learned, but the ability to utilize it is not an inalienable
right that should be protected from these businesses.
My
personal interests presented by Google were spot on, with the exception of my
age. It listed me as 25-34 which is frankly close enough. I was not surprised
to see all the different sports interest that it assumed I liked. It listed
almost every sport there is and similar activities that involve them. The most
interesting interest that it gave me was the state of Utah. This may seem
somewhat odd to an outsider, but it makes sense to me, even though I have never
lived there and have only been inside its borders once. I am a beat writer for
the Utah Jazz for Rotowire.com and consequently read Utahan newspapers almost
every day to keep up with the team and their day to day activities. This was
the only entity listed that caught me off guard and made me realize how acute
Google is at determining what goes on in your life.
I
don’t think that knowing these results will change the way that I communicate
online. I think that I am already pretty conservative with data that I present
for people to see regarding Facebook and I actually like that Google tries to
peg me as a person. I think that Google has actually helped me find content
online and even provided me with advertisements that I have been happy to be
exposed to. My only problem lies with the potential for all this information to
get in the wrong hands. As I have stated, I don’t really care that my profile
is being kept by businesses, but I would really be discouraged if it caused me
personal harm because it fell in corrupt arms.
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