Thanks for visiting my blog. It will be on your personal record FOR-EH-VER. Fellow blogger Trey Mayo investigated this issue in some recent blog posts and came back with some interesting (and tin foil hat-inducing) findings. He explained that everything we search for online tracked to determine our preferences and is being used by marketers to define who we are as people through our purchases.
I am torn on behavioral marketing. From the marketing professional side, I see it as a great way to really deliver to the consumer what they like (probably) and eliminate all the clutter that they would normally have to sort through. On the other hand, as a consumer, I want to actively seek information that I will use to make a decision that is, in my opinion, the least biased and most reliable. Having information about every aspect of my life used to decide that for me may not provide what I am looking for, especially if I am looking to try something new.
The problem I see is that as consumers and users of the Internet, we may have to take our medicine. Even though recent studies have shown that consumers don’t really want behavior marketing, it is really the only way for social networking sites and blogs can make money in their landscape. These bring nice revenue streams so that they can continue providing content without a cost to the consumer (i.e. subscriptions). There have been some other options thrown about, but they don’t seem to be viable working solutions. I personally don’t mind the ads that are distributed on my Facebook page. For now, I am happy ignoring whatever the Internet is trying to sell me.
