Ugh Marketing: Commodification and Power

I think one of the most valuable types of data for companies to collect would probably be consumer behaviors regarding advertising and how they react to things like “people who bought this also bought ___.” If people aren’t making use of the suggested items list on websites like Amazon, then they can look at who is using it, how many items the person actually clicked on to consider buying, and how many they ignored to refine the list for the individual and increase their business. On a similar note, if companies pay attention to which advertisements are skipped or dismissed, then they can know what kinds of ads people do not enjoy, that will not work to sell their product, that will make people actively avoid their company because the ad was so annoying, and therefore they can refine their marketing strategy.

I am kind of undecided about whether or not companies are justified in how they are taking data in exchange for commodities. If it is data such as items I’ve bought, or even just items I’ve looked at with the possible intention of buying, I think that’s fine. What I don’t approve of is when companies put in the terms and conditions for their apps that they can look at all of the data on my phone (like looking at my contacts, emails, messages, etc). I feel like looking at what I do on their website is fine; it’s a service I’m using and they have every right to use what I look at on their website to better their advertisements and marketing. When I’m using the app that’s fine too, but I don’t think they should be allowed to look at my messages that are entirely unrelated and start targeting things at me based on private messaging.

I do put out a lot of data through my apps- I have chronic migraines, and because I’m in the process of switching neurologists I’m keeping a photographic food diary as well as using a migraine tracker. The migraine tracker I know keeps track of where I am to see if the weather and air pressure have any correlation to my migraines, and it tracks my sleep (not very well though). When I log a migraine, I put in a lot of details about what is going on, and it can get a lot of other details by looking at other apps on my phone.

I also use an app called todoist, which is basically an electronic todo list that shows on both my phone and my laptop, so I guess they could sell data on what I’ve been doing to a third party (because I’m sure third parties care so much that I have to study for French tests and log my internship hours). On the other hand, I also currently have a note to look at acupuncturists and and create a digital portfolio, which could lead to some interesting targeted advertising should they sell the data to someone who would use it for that.

I’d say those two apps plus Twitter are getting the most out of my electronic activity. My data could be of use because of my demographics- several companies are trying to figure out how to advertise to my age group, gender, education level, health needs, etc.