I have noticed more and more recently that my journey around the internet is being watched and Big Brother is definitely alive and kicking. Having just moved into a new house in the last six months, we have done a lot of little jobs around the house. This, combined with the fact that I am pretty much tied to the house, means that my preferred shopping option is to shop online. It is convenient for me and over those six months I have had things as small as wall fastenings through to huge things like a summerhouse delivered right to my door. What really disturbs me is that when choosing an item, I trawl through many options and those site visits are being logged somewhere in the cloud. I know this because when I then go to visit other sites, the items I looked at are lurking innocently at the edges of the page to remind me that I haven’t actually bought them yet. I find this very creepy.
It is disconcerting enough that the chandelier you looked at pops up on someone’s blog or the dress company that your twitter friends told you about constantly appears on other sites as you browse but I heard an even more frightening example this morning.
A lady I follow on twitter responded to my request for new whinges. Her example was targeted marketing at its most frightening. A grocery delivery company has been sending her ‘lady items’ and offers on them at the appropriate time of the month. How intrusive is that??
Of course, this opens up another version of the same issue. Not only is your surfing being monitored but your weekly shop is too, if you use a Tesco Clubcard or Nectar card or similar. When you do your shop, Big Brother is logging the items you buy regularly and then sending you offers on those items. Did you think it was just coincidence that the voucher you received was for the very brand you prefer and buy regularly?
Whether we like it or not……Big Brother is here and is watching you right now.
Lynda's Blog 