In this modern world of electronics and gadgets that watch you, individual privacy is increasingly being violated and molested. There used to be a time where companies had a very difficult time of obtaining information about individual people unless the people voluntarily provided their personal information. Not so anymore.
The latest of these privacy violations comes in the form of “smart” advertising. Essentially, ads are put up that have small cameras embedded into them to watch which people pay attention to them. These ads can for the most part identify gender, age group, race and ethnicity. They can then use that information to target specific advertisements to passer-byers.
They claim that the information is not recorded, however in the same breath, they claim that they can use this information to see which advertisements work for which group. To me it seems to do any sort of research of that type, you would have to record the data.
Anyway, here is a part of the article:
Watch an advertisement on a video screen in a mall, health club or grocery store and there’s a slim — but growing — chance the ad is watching you too.
Small cameras can now be embedded in the screen or hidden around it, tracking who looks at the screen and for how long. The makers of the tracking systems say the software can determine the viewer’s gender, approximate age range and, in some cases, ethnicity — and can change the ads accordingly.
You can find the full article here.
