We reveal far more online than we think we do and this combination of social updates and big data analysis is going to become even more frightening in the future.
Email accounts, social accounts, apps and web pages are only free because your attention and your information have a value.
Companies can cross reference from all of these sources to make huge inferences about you and what is going on in your life.
Each post or mail you make, how you make it and your word choices are stored and referenced.
For example, your use of words combined with the page you like or your website viewing, even your friends’ likes and views could mean you are more likely to buy or do something.
Of course your buying behaviour is only one behaviour which big data can predict about you (more about this soon).
Always remember – if you’re not paying for something then you are the product.
Internet privacy is such a big issue. In my opinion, the targeted advertising is one of the least worrying things to come from this – online safety is so important and more needs to be done to teach people of the importance of it.