This morning, as I do most mornings, I got up and made a cup of hot tea and sat down with my laptop to see the morning news and read overnight emails.
It was quite a surprise to me receive an invitation to become an Amazon Mom with an offer to purchase diapers online! My children are in their 30’s, and I am not yet a grandmother and there are no grandchildren on the way, so I was stumped until my caffeine started to jump start my brain.
Yesterday, I received news that a friend had a baby and the chosen name is unique, like our daughter’s name is unique. Instead of going into the office and pulling out my trusty baby name book that I use for story characters, I Goggled the new baby’s name.
And, it appears that is where the internet spying began… more below the fold.
I do delete cookies. I have my browser set for privacy. My Facebook account is set for friends.
As a GMD blogger and with my own professional paralegal and internet work, I always read what I can in terms of privacy rights and concerns. I was startled and troubled when a few months ago to read about a young woman who bought a pregnancy test, and then her family received mail from Target suggesting they buy baby supplies!
I don’t want to buy baby supplies. I don’t want to be followed all over the net and solicited and Targeted or Amazoned to shop for whatever their computer algorithms have determined I must have and must buy from them. I am not a shop til I drop type of person, and I don’t believe that shopping will get us out of this worldwide financial debacle and depression.
I will continue to buy local first. That is why I frequent Burlington’s exceptional farmers market that is filled with food and local handcrafts from pottery to stained glass to beautiful baby clothes! That is why I shop at local businesses like Outdoor Gear Exchange or the newly opened downtown Burlington Phoenix Books — that is when I really need something.
Most of all, I simply want my privacy back! Amazon please heed this post!
suggest finding an ad blocking plugin. I’m on Safari, and use an extension called AdBlock. Lots of ways to filter what gets to your eyes and browser.
Also, Ghostery
http://www.ghostery.com/
I’ve played with it on my old PC, but haven’t set it up yet on the Mac.
And there are also plugins that tell you who or what is following you around from Facebook and Twitter and Google+.
Facebook Disconnect, Google Disconnect, Twitter Disconnect, etc.
And there’s more… just have to have a look around.
It’s enough connectivity, already!
I recently checked my bank statement online and right under a purchase at Connie’s Kitchen in Hardwick, IN MY STATEMENT, was an ad for Burger King! North Country Federal Credit Union was suggesting I NOT shop local and go to Burger King instead! I sent in a note after hours that my local Vermont credit union should not be offering coupons to divert customers away from local businesses and got a reply from the CEO himself. They said there is an opt-out option and that they are reaching out to local merchants.
Internet spying gone wrong:
A few days ago, my spouse went to our mailbox and took a lot of ribbing for a box of Similac with my name on it! “Is there something we don’t know?” I am the last person to need Similac, as I’m a guy and we breastfed all our kids exclusively (which is why they are two grades ahead of their classmates).
And some computer out there has decided that I am diabetic. I get junk mail and phone calls “for the diabetic in your home”. I have no idea how that one got started.
… think of it as “enhanced marketing.” Saving the environment by targeting (oops, bad choice of words) selected consumers.
a.k.a. “people.”
You will be disturbed by the number of information vacuums sucking your data. On some sites the list goes halfway down the page.
If you use gmail in your browser, sign out of it, close your browser, and reopen before visiting other sites. You can also use one browser for Google searching and gmail and some other for everything else.
There is no “free.” Only a hidden price.