DSA Online | New Media Updates

I used to delete my cookies all the time. I didn’t want anyone collecting data about me; my privacy was vitally important. I never really gave any thought to what a business might do with collected information, but I assumed it must be something sinister, perhaps replacing me with a clone, or even worse…contacting me with offers. I’d die before I’d let anyone offer me something that my own habits would suggest I’d want.

I think I grew up in a time when mass data collection was a new idea, one that conflicted with our notion of privacy. Of course, gathering personal data isn’t a new idea, but somehow new technology was going to use the information against us. Somebody would sift through the bulk of data collected about me, glean an insight into my behaviour, and ruin my life. It was akin to the government forcing us to register our guns – big brother keeping an eye on everyone.

But that time has passed, and we now live in a time where we willingly put out as much information about ourselves as possible. We have countless online profiles where we can spew out every detail of our lives, from our hobbies and friends to why we hate U2*. Now we even have Twitter to help our narcissism exist online in real-time. We now embrace putting information about ourselves on the web, so why do we still delete our cookies?

Given my job, I tend to notice the ads I see presented to me, and the longer I go without deleting cookies, the more these ads become relevant to me. Whether I’m looking at personal interests or researching a topic for work, the ads I see are often directly related to that, and I now appreciate it. I was recently looked into flights, and soon began to see a number of airline ads. Given that I’m actively searching for flights, having that information delivered to me is convenient.

There is so much information available now that, to me, it makes sense to have cookies feeding me information I want to see rather than random ads that don’t relate to me at all. The more cookies can track what I like and where I go, the less I have to deal with ads I don’t want to see. Its not perfect system, if I visit I-HateYourCryingBaby.com there’s a good chance I’ll see a diapers ads – but overall I see less of things I don’t like and more of what I do.

Google is taking this one step farther and creating profiles that not only track a user’s on-line habits, but also allows the user to customize the profiles by choosing what they want to see. More on that here.

A recent report suggests that 80% of Americans are deleting their cookies on a regular basis, a number which Kathryn and I find surprising. if those numbers are to be believed, it begs the question ‘Why?’ Are you deleting your cookies for a reason, or is it just a habit?  You may want to consider not deleting your cookies and see what happens – you may find that the Cookies Monster isn’t really a monster after all.

*In a time when we are increasingly fragmented society, with a wide range of styles, how does a band like U2 get away with putting out the same generic garbage over and over again? I know I’m not the only one that’s tired of hearing them on every station from rock to pop.