Oh data mining, you have such a terrible reputation! You’re not exactly the type of “miner” I’m used to either! Although, I suppose taking our precious personal information and smearing it all over the inter-webs will do that to you. However, data mining is not going anywhere and, if anything, it is only going to get more powerful as our technologies continue to advance. It’s essentially an unavoidable truth at this stage in the game – living a life without the impact of data mining seems nearly impossible.
Last semester we talked, in great detail, about the amount of user information that is collected on the Internet. I suppose it should have worried me a bit more than it really did – we voluntarily give out our information with each new account we make, question we answer or post we create. No one is forcing us to “opt-in” to websites, social accounts or any other Internet based service. We are choosing to live a “plugged-in” life all on our own – granted, we would be pretty out of touch with the world if did choose not to opt-in to these services. However, it’s truly a choice all our own.
With that being said, I do believe that companies should be much more up front and honest with their data mining intentions. Amazon does a pretty decent job at answer user questions on their Privacy Notice webpage. They specifically call out the types of personal information they gather, where this information is being shared and even provide some examples of the information they have collected. If more companies were honest about what they are doing with our information, it might help to ease our nerves and might even sway skeptical folks to share a bit more of the personal information.
From lower prices on my preferred products to detecting fraudulent activity, data mining can do a great deal of “good” in our tech-savvy society. Personally, if I can get better deals and more personal marketing as a result of data mining – bring it on!
Ta-ta for now!
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Thanks Lacee, this is a good companion piece to your readings reaction this week and even a Disney link!