You are a commodity

The way ‘free’ services make money is not by selling advertising. What they sell is access to you, and information about you to advertisers, marketers and researchers, and others. Your information is also used by others looking to track people for various purposes.

Every piece of information you post, and every action you take online has commercial value to someone. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Your information helps companies provide you ads that are more targeted to your interests, it helps researchers know what kind of products to design, and so on. But your information is also used in negtative and sometimes criminal ways. For example:

• By someone who wants to embarrass or bully you.

• Plagiarists who want to claim your content as their own

• By companies who want to use your information in ways that act against your interests

  • Insurance companies are using information posted on blogs to deny coverage of medical claims, car accident claims, and so on.

  • Companies may reject your job application, find reasons to fire you, and so on.

• By criminal organizations or individuals building profiles of people to scam, steal identities, hijack computers, find interesting homes to break into or cars to steal, people to physically harm, and so on

As you provide information consider how it is being sold, bought, or simply taken and make sure you’re okay with potential outcomes. Learn how information as a commodity relates to taking surveys, chat, discussion boards, and forums, online dating, creating safe personal e-mail aliases, sharing Images and Vvdeo, and gaming online