To me, mass data collection from multiple sources which is stored by only a handful of ‘big brother’ type companies with very wealthy and ‘powerful’ individuals who have significant fingers in the pies of all of those big brother companies, is being done for those individuals purposes alone.
That there are so many wild theories about why this may be (there is no clarity about it), that these companies and individuals do underhanded dealing, are clearly morally deficient and don’t care about the end user tells me that there is some malevolent intent. I don’t feel this is just about money - more like ‘making money’ is the distraction from the real purpose of data collection.
From the most recent snippets I’ve seen on this thread (I haven’t read all of it), I wonder three things…
Why are these companies collecting human data from all of the population they can?
Why are these companies creating things that don’t require humans to operate them (eg. self driving cars or eye scanning tech which could probably be fooled by a clever techological replica of the eye - AI?)
What happens if you are an end user relying upon all of these great fandangled gadgets and there is a huge solar flare which renders them ALL useless?
I’d invite any readers to use their natural human critical thinking and read between the lines, put the pieces of the puzzle together and see if it feels okay to you to engage with these technologies, social media platforms, companies, software and other products… make a conscious choice that works for you.
In Poland we have this saying, “If you don’t understand what’s it’s all about, it’s most likely about MONEY.”
I think this can be applied to this situation.
Companies use data to target their advertising and marketing efforts more effectively. By understanding who their customers are, what they like, and how they behave, they can deliver more relevant and compelling messages.
I wrote about GEOLOCATION data some time back. It’s worth a read:
Yeah, it’s super convenient, but you’re paying for it by giving up your data.
Just think about all the info which can be gathered from tracking someone’s movements.
If you go to a certain place every day between 9am-5pm ( it’s reasonable to assume you work there) Based on the employer- it can be estimated how much you make.
If you return to a specific place at night & sleep there- it can be easily estimated how much you pay for rent of mortgage.
The shops you frequent also determine your income level.
These factors, combined with data combing online, can paint a pretty detailed picture of an individual.
That’s why, at Mudita, we believe users should also be aware of how their data is being used and have the ability to opt out if they choose.
Another thing to love about Mudita You support user choice.
Using the Pure I’ve switched two things to old school.
Map book - I just bought a road Atlas
Calendar for appointment reminders - I made a little palm sized calendar book for myself as my needs are simple. Each day size is about an inch squared, 7 days to a page, double sided. It fits into my bag with ease, is very lightweight and is made from a notebook I wasn’t using.
Not only are these things convenient for me, they ensure my privacy of location and appointments.
I thought of a third thing that I switched with using Pure - instead of using a weather app I go outside and feel the weather. I’m getting better at predicting the highly variable weather for the day in my local environment!
remember times when we would just visit a website and do whatever we needed there?
now it’s all can we track you? can we know where you are? can we get a cookie? do you agree to this? do you agree to that? would you like desktop notifications? can we use your microphone? would you like to donate your organs? (jk)
So many buttons to click and (x)s to find.
Well this turned out to be a rage rant
I wonder how many others have or will cancel orders due to this sort of thing? I most likely would have cancelled it too. Gives a creepy meaning to the business name too… Target.
Funny but also really scary! I’m so much more in love with my little MuPu after reading this!
You support user choice.
