My profession is digital media and marketing. While I have made a living with this for over 16 years, I am increasingly concerned about the use of data to track, monitor and sell information about online and offline behavior. Part of my own ‘digital hygiene’ is to keep tracking cookies to a minimum, and at least know who is tracking me.
The latest information shows companies seeking to leverage data to track their customers and gain revenues from it are the big credit card companies. Let’s face it – we are all generating a ton of data all the time, due to our use of digital media.
One of the options you do have, and should use, is to know what ad networks and companies outside of pure advertising and marketing endeavors are tracking you, and what they are doing with it.
For those interested, here is a link to the Network Advertising Initiative’s opt out page, that will tell you which networks are tracking you already, and provide you with a means of opting out to each (or all).
–Adrienne Skinner
Larchmont
photo: Flickr
