Learning About You Through Data Mining
In his book, Numerati, author Stephen Baker discusses the use of mining data in today's world. The information is useful for marketers, employers, politicians, or even the government. Political consultants can use the data to place us in tribes based on behavior and predict whether we're a pet owner, a Democrat, an NRA members, and so on. Heath professionals can use the information to find potential health problems by tracking weight, body temperature, pulse, or even patient movement by using special carpet with sensors built-in. The computer will look for specific patterns over time. Many of us are already familiar with data mining when using Amazon as it can amazingly start to predict what books you may want to read. Netflix does the same thing. Privacy appears to be a thing of the past as we move to a digital world where everyone shares their personal life online whether in Facebook, Netflix, Flickr, or on Amazon.
