Hand Over the Info: All the Ways Technology Equals the Gathering of Data

Nowadays, tech companies are more focused on the compilation of data on their customers than anything else.

New tech trends are the perfect means of gathering data: every single person wants to be a part of it. Not knowingly, of course, people only concentrate on being up to speed, using the most popular application or the newest online Internet casino. They want to appear trendy and love to use new products. Tech companies are well aware and use this knowledge to amass information on each and every one of their users. Marketers are the best example for this: people who’s actual job is to utilize the facts at hand. But what do they do, exactly?

• Companies collecting personal data
• Information is stored to target us with ads
• Our habits are not private anymore

First and foremost, there is the collection of data. Marketers track our every move from what we type into our search engines to our behavior on social media platforms. According to Direct Marketing News, this means that around 48% of marketers use our purchase histories and 44% use third-party lists. Our browser histories and posts on, for example, Facebook, are used a bit less, however. So, if you bet on sports in Canada, you will be targeted will all things relevant. To define the type of ads to be used, they apply names and demographic data.

Ever notice how looking at cars to buy will lead you to see ads about amazing car deals?

Let’s think about it for a second. It’s one thing to give our general info when we are registering at a website. But each time we go on Facebook or other social media sites, we knowingly offer further facts on ourselves, like what we enjoy to do in our free time, what sports we engage in, our political views. We even provide where we usually hang out with friends or who we date. Want to see how fast you run that 5-mile distance? Yep, that’s some information that can also be easily accessed.

Looking for an interesting book to read? Searching for new online poker sites in Canada? Soon, all of your ads will feature book and gambling recommendations. Cookies are a great way to cater to a user’s interests. Here, I’m not referring to those delicious chocolate chip cookies we all covet, but a small scrap of data that is stored in the user’s web browser. The aim of cookies is to be able to recall info about the user. Websites use them to mold themselves to the customer’s activities and ad organizations apply them to gather the data.
Basically, every ounce of information on us is, up for grabs.

The cloud that looms over us

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Currently, if we want to back up our devices, we upload the info onto various cloud storage units. There. All of our contact info, photos on our iPhones, text messages and e-mails, consciously handed over. Clouds are owned by hosting companies that provide the sufficient storage capacity and accessibility. The problem with this is that by using clouds, our private information is more prone to be accessed by people who are unauthorized. Since information is often moved around, through many networks, security may weaken in the process.

SINTEF reported in 2013 that 90% of the worldwide data was generated in the two previous years. That is a gigantic number, one that shows just how much information can be gathered with one wave of the technological wand. According to gambling news, some companies aid others in combing through this monstrous pile of data to make marketing organizations’ lives easier. You upload a photo on any social media platform where you are, say, after a jog. The brand of clothes you wear are visible, and soon, you will be targeted with specific ads.

Take a fitness tracker: your heart rate, location (thanks to built-in GPS,) sporting habits and weight will all become a part of global data. Companies selling dietary supplements, sports gear or anything related to sports, really, will bombard you with targeted ads. Love to go on bike tours and you find new routes on the Internet? Don’t be surprised if the next thing you see is an online commercial trying to sell you the newest trekking bike that is lighter and faster than ever… and can even provide you with tips on which shops to visit along the route?