Just imagine: You're at the Apple Store at Mayfair Mall buying an iPod. You leave the store and notice that the Alterra Coffee kiosk suddenly sells iPod accessories. As you walk toward Williams-Sonoma, their window display changes to advertise "Downloadable audio cookbooks for your iPod."
You walk further down the hall and someone approaches you and says, "I just bought an iPod, too, and The Gap is selling these cool jackets that integrate the ear phone cords and have a specially-designed, waterproof pocket for iPod protection." Banners drop from the ceiling, advertising new podcasts via iTunes and the public address system announces leather iPod cases now available at Coach.
At this point, sure, you'd poop your pants.
This intensely personal, customized marketplace already exists. Behavioral Targeting is the latest online marketing juggernaut, and the scenario above is just one feature it employs. The feature is called "Re-Targeting," and it tags you at the point of purchase in an attempt to serve you relative content during your continued surfing. If you buy a wet suit on Scuba.com, you might be served ads for scuba getaways on ESPN.com or banners for scuba masks on Amazon. It's no coincidence. It's Big Brother.
Well, actually, it's more like "Big Bucket."
When you surf online, whether reading content on Slate, clicking through pages at MLB.com or planning a trip on Orbitz, you are placed into "buckets." Visit PGATour.com and you'll find yourself in a "golf enthusiast" bucket. Read a few stories on Newsweek.com about stem cells and Boom!, you're in a "forward-thinking Democrat" bucket.
Now, I'll ask you, is this technology a plus or a minus to the world at large? It's a bit scary being "tagged" and "bucketed" whilst going about your business. However, isn't it also creating more contextual environs? The experience becomes more invasive, but the reward is "butler-like" in its personal attention and service.
The virtual line here, of course, is between your behavior and your personal information. That line is the membrane that protects our lives, and there have been more than a few attempts to cross it by evil corporations. The trust we have in the Internet is still such a new thing that most people are still in the "so far, so good" mode. Personally, I feel my integration within the virtual world is not unlike my place in the real one. Stuff happens, but for the most part, I enjoy shiny objects and girls are pretty.
The promise of technology is starting to payoff, but side effects may vary. If you wish to drop out, you can always dump your cookies, empty your cache and clear your history each night. But, remember that sage advice of The Kinks: Paranoia will destroy ya.
