Data Mining and the Tough Personal Information Privacy Sell Considered

Everyone come on in and have a seat, we will be starting this discussion a little behind schedule due to the fact we have a full-house here today. If anyone has a spare seat next to them, will you please raise your hands, we need to get some of these folks in back a seat. The reservations are sold out, but there should be a seat for everyone at today’s discussion.

Okay everyone, I thank you and thanks for that great introduction, I just hope I can live up to all those verbal accolades.

Oh boy, not another controversial subject! Yes, well, surely you know me better than that by now, you’ve come to expect it. Okay so, today’s topic is one about the data mining of; Internet Traffic, Online Searches, Smart Phone Data, and basically, storing all the personal data about your whole life. I know, you don’t like this idea do you – or maybe you participate online in social online networks and most of your data is already there, and you’ve been loading up your blog with all sorts of information?

Now then, contemporary theory and real world observation of the virtual world predicts that for a fee, or for a trade in free services, products, discounts, or a chance to play in social online networks, employment opportunity leads, or the prospects of future business you and nearly everyone will give up some personal information.

So, once this data is collected, who will have access to it, who will use it, and how will they use it? All great questions, but first how can the collection of this data be sold to the users, and agreed upon in advance? Well, this can at times be very challenging; yes, very tough sell, well human psychology online suggests that if we give benefits people will trade away any given data of privacy.

Hold That Thought.

Let’s digress a second, and have a reality check dialogue, and will come back to that point above soon enough, okay – okay agreed then.

The information online is important, and it is needed at various national security levels, this use of data is legitimate and worthy information can be gained in that regard. For instance, many Russian Spies were caught in the US using social online networks to recruit, make business contacts, and study the situation, makes perfect sense doesn’t it? Okay so, that particular episode is either; an excuse to gather this data and analyze it, or it is a warning that we had better. Either way, it’s a done deal, next topic.

And, there is the issue with foreign spies using the data to hurt American businesses, or American interests, or even to undermine the government, and we must understand that spies in the United States come from over 70 other nations. And let’s not dismiss the home team challenge. What’s that you ask? Well, we have a huge intelligence industrial complex and those who work in and around the spy business, often freelance on the side for Wall Street, corporations, or other interests. They have access to information, thus all that data mined data is at their disposal.

Is this a condemnation of sorts; No! I am merely stating facts and realities behind the curtain of created realities of course, without judgment, but this must be taken into consideration when we ask; who can we trust with all this information once it is collected, stored, and in a format which can be sorted? So, we need a way to protect this data for the appropriate sources and needs, without allowing it to be compromised – this must be our first order of business.

Let’s Undigress and Go Back to the Original Topic at hand, shall we? Okay, deal.

Now then, what about large corporate collecting information; Proctor and Gamble, Ford, GM, Amazon, etc? They will certainly be buying this data from social networks, and in many cases you’ve already given up your rights to privacy merely by participating. Of course, all the data will help these companies refine their sorts using your preferences, thus, the products or services they pitch you will be highly targeted to your exact desires, needs, and demographics, which is a lot better than the current bombardment of Viagra Ads with disgusting titles, now in your inbox, deleted junk files.

Look, here is the deal…if we are going to collect data online, through  data hk social networks, and store all that the data, then we also need an excuse to collect the data first place, or the other option is not tell the public and collect it anyway, which we already probably realize that is now being done in some form or fashion. But let’s for the sake of arguments say it isn’t, then should we tell the public we are doing, or are going to do this. Yes, however if we do not tell the public they will eventually figure it out, and conspiracy theories will run rampant.

We already know this will occur because it has occurred in the past. Some say that when any data is collected from any individual, group, company, or agency, that all those involved should also be warned on all the collection of data, as it is being collected and by whom. Including the NSA, a government, or a Corporation which intends on using this data to either sell you more products, or for later use by their artificial intelligence data scanning tools.

Likewise, the user should be notified when cookies are being used in Internet searchers, and what benefits they will get, for instance; search features to help bring about more relevant information to you, which might be to your liking. Such as Amazon.com which tracks customer inquiries and brings back additional relevant results, most online shopping eCommerce sites do this, and there was a very nice expose on this in the Wall Street Journal recently.