The long tail is a very interesting concept which explains why so many businesses have survived the dot com crash of the late 90s and have excelled. With fixed costs at an all time low, virtual businesses are able to offer goods and services and unbeatable prices compared with shop fronts. Also the ability to cater to the infinite amount of niche markets has resulted in a dramatic increase of profits. However the way in which these businesses reach these niche markets is somewhat intrusive. A users movements online are tracked and recorded. These records are then used to 'suggest' to the user what they might enjoy. Although this is a clear breech of privacy, people are generally unaware that this is happening right in front of their eyes. The documentary Erasing David explains this issue and is clearly shown when the creator receives requested documents concerning what information certain businesses have about him. When comparing the amount the government knows to what private companies know is staggeringly one sided.
There is a reason that Facebook has become one of the hottest companies in the past decade. Of course it is a way of communicating with people from all corners of the globe, but what does Facebook actually own? What are its assets? The reason why it is so valuable is because it is the largest free marketing database. The asset that they have is all your information and states in the terms and conditions that they can do what they like with this information. Henceforth advertisements are catered for your page, companies can find out exactly what makes you tick.
This however can be deemed as a good thing and a new and innovative way to target marketing. Personally i have discovered many a new bands and movies through what was 'recommended for me' and i am thankful that i was able to experience them. However it does raise the ethical issue of privacy and begs the question, who is really reading your Facebook profile?
I also find it extremely creepy that I do not know who is viewing my Facebook. Yes, it is really cool that the personal ads are in-fact personal, but the Facebook "team" could be doing whatever they want with my information. I do not generally share personal information over the internet, but I do have 2,284 pictures of myself tagged on Facebook that they could do whatever they want with.
ReplyDeleteYour pictures could end up like that family photo Ted showed us in class, imagine that.. scary :/
ReplyDeleteRecommendations are neat, i totally agree, some of my favorite bands were recommendation I pursued and glad I did. :)
The significant difference between online and off-line commodity is the product itself, online service provide intangible goods and off-line provide tangible products. The value of online products is it provides kind of free information service. For instance, people could read online rather than purchase books in the bookstore. It is such a convenience for readers to set and reading online at home or wherever. The other case which you provided is about Facebook, the company involved into privacy issue because it controls lots of private information. As you said the reason why Facebook succeed is because it is largest free marketing databases. On the other hand we also should concern whether the largest databases could bring troubles to us.
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