Posted on October 5th 2014 – no changes made to text
Also see 2017 hedge fund letters
Headline:
Silicon Valley Nerds Get Rich By Invading Your Privacy
[timeless]
Technology, in general, is such a great thing for so many reasons…it is pretty obvious. But it is NOT ALL GOOD.
We [the general public] love going to millions of different web sites, to research and to be entertained. And it is mostly free…WHAT A GREAT F_ _ KING DEAL. But is it really free? No hard dollars leave our pockets but it is certainly not free. So what is the real hidden price?
The Answer = Your Privacy.
I suppose a lot of people would say that it seems like a pretty fair trade-off. I go to my favorite web site and easily consume so much amazing/real time information. So what if I have to give them my email address or phone number or street address or twitter “handle” or whatever? To many, I suppose, since the personal information is simply given away…it is worth not too much. But to the Nerds…it is priceless. And they quietly laugh as you actually give it to them. You see they are fooling you and enjoying it…all the way to the bank…on your back.
Furthermore, suppose you go to a web site and proffer no personal information. You are cool…Right? No way they know who I am…Right? YOU COULD NOT BE MORE WRONG. The nerds have found a way around that one too.To them…the beauty is that they are tracking you and you do not even know it. “Clueless Plebeians. They do not even know how to spell algorithm let alone know what it actually does.”
Oh S_ _T. I did not know that but since they were tracking me I must be really special…so I guess it’s OK. Wrong again…they do NOT care who you are. They are just tracking your web surfing habits so that they can sell your “likes/interests” to an online marketer. You may respond…I know….but that is just the way it works…it sort of pisses me off but there is really nothing I can do about it. Plus, I mean…really, I do not care if the Nerd’s”algo’s” determine that I am more likely to buy Crest toothpaste rather than Colgate? It is so irrelevant to me.
And that may be true…but this is about so much more than the toothpaste you choose to use.
This is really about how ALL of your seemingly innocent keystrokes weave a comprehensive story about your personal desires…and how this data is exploited and monetized by the Nerds. Every keystroke is being measured, collated, analyzed and sold to the highest bidder. Think you are not being analyzed on your bank’s website or your brokerage website because of login/password protection? Think again.
Ever wonder why, that after researching pricing on an airlines’ website, [and maybe even after “clearing” your cache and “cleaning up” your hard drive] that an advertisement for a rental car still shows up [at the destination airport you were researching but did NOT even book/buy] while you were looking at college football scores on ESPN? Because on the internet virtually NOTHING is private.
Surprisingly most people are willing to voluntarily contribute some of their their personal/private data to many web sites. Of course that is a good start for the providing companies but just not enough information. These same sites then seize on their users’ web surfing “trails” with invisible tracking algorithms [which collectively re-cycle all of this personal data into hard dollars quickly deposited into their company treasury accounts] that are the cornerstone of The Nerds’ business models. BTW…invisible tracking definitely conflicts with the concept of trust…which The Nerds ultimately require from their users to meet their aspirational business goals. But to The Nerds, it seems, invisible trumps trust.
Furthermore, consider the physical equivalent of this tracking. You go shopping for groceries and as you browse, select and buy…everything you even just look at is catalogued and monitored by an invisible person. You specifically look at the ingredients in a bottle of salad dressing but place it back on the shelf deciding not to purchase it. Then the following week you are deluged with marketing materials, in your mailbox, about that specific salad dressing [and other items you either purchased or simply looked at…even that fancy automobile you just glanced at in the parking lot] and why it is a wise choice to buy it.
In the physical world I believe this would be considered stalking…broadly defined as = criminal activity consisting of the repeated following and harassing of another person.. While on the internet The Nerds follow you ALL of the time and harass you SOME of the time = unwanted advertisements/pop-up windows, phishing emails etc. Electronic “Cold Calling”…at its worst.
But for some reason electronic monitoring/stalking of our buying habits/interests = broadly accepted. Do we really wish to be followed like this? My guess = NO. Plus…it just seems so desperate…that simply reading a product’s ingredients may serve as a leading indicator for a future purchase. Maybe you just stopped and looked at the product to allow the cart behind you, with the loudly crying baby, to pass by?
Back to The Nerds…think about it…without your data they would be powerless. With your data they are powerful…at no significant costs to them [other than their programmers not “having a life” while they coded some “algo” in C++, at 3:00 am, while drinking a 12 pack of 16 ounce Monster Energy and not showering for 1 entire week].
And with YOUR data they do just about anything they want with it…without telling you…for their financial pleasure. Voila…your private data suddenly becomes their private data and there is no getting it back from them. I really don’t remember them asking for it. They just took it…sort of like a thief.
What is not so surprising = some of the biggest collectors of your personal data are social media sites i.e. Facebook..Instagram/LinkedIn/SnapChat [I mean Naked Selfies.com]. These companies encourage their users to share as much information, about themselves, as possible so that the “user experience” is maximized and optimized. What they really ought to be saying is “the more information you give us then the more money we make by selling it to some other company who can “blast” you with electronic marketing programs. In return you can use our REALLY NEAT social media platform for free.” That’s the deal…if you don’t like it then “pound sand”. And I’m sure plenty of people would still be accepting of that precept…but these companies are just not that transparent/candid.
As an example LinkedIn [led by super-Nerd Reid Hoffman] has the audacity to “tap” into your email contacts without, in my opinion, clear disclosure [unless you consider “clear disclosure” as…buried in their horrifically lengthy user agreement that nobody ever reads or spending 15-20 minutes+ closely reviewing their options/preferences…checking and unchecking countless boxes]. I don’t recall them asking me if it was all right…I don’t recall seeing a “pop-up” window that effectively said “we are tapping into your contacts because how else would we do what we do”…they just did it.
Why? Because they could. Why? Because they are Nerds. Why? Because of their algorithms. Why? Because their attorneys told them they had it “covered”. But, REALLY, because of the MONEY. And the “Nerds” now have a LOT of money.
This is why DC politicians, now, really care about the Nerds…always stopping in Nerd Capital, USA for some “fundraising” [even though they are running for Congress in some other state]. You see…The Nerds have the Totally Killer Combo of both: campaign dollars + terabytes of private information about a great deal of the American population. For a politician…that is the Holy Grail [other than a “hot” intern to answer their phones and have a cocktail with on Thursday nights while their wives play Bunko with their girlfriends].
Tell me…have you noticed all of the government data requests of Facebook, Google, AT&T, Verizon, etc? You know why? That’s a rhetorical question and I’ll assume you know the answer.
To the Nerds these requests are just another opportunity to softly peddle their false loyalty to you…that they will surely NOT release any of your/their personal information to the government as it is considered private…not too private to share with Procter and Gamble and Colgate Palmolive…but too private to share with the government.
And that does make some sense…I think…that is…if you are in the business of invading somebody’s privacy. But, if this is your business model, then how does a company successfully convince its users that it is vigilantly protecting their privacy while utilizing these same users’ private information for the company’s financial benefit? Can’t help but think of the proverbial “Fox Guarding The Hen House”.
And how do we know there is even a legitimate algorithm/firewall to successfully stratify [the private-private and the company utilized-private] your private information. And if so…do they really adhere to it…beyond the generic policy statements regularly received and promptly recycled in the weekly mail?
For now, apparently, the companies are relying on the cumulative ignorances/apathies of their users but many others do actually wonder…
- How and Where Is This Privacy Line Drawn?
- If There Is a Line…Then How Is It Even Monitored/Enforced?
- Who is Actually Making These Decisions About Privacy Thresholds?
- Are These Decisions In The Interests Of The Company or The User?
One clear line, currently, seems to be how companies navigate government requests for user data. Most technology companies decline these requests…usually…I think/hope…but still, we all know the sensitive/private data is “out there”/somewhere. Companies claim the data is secure…but really…How Secure Is It? And, even if it is currently secure… Secure For How Long Into The Future before somebody/some firm/some foreign government successfully finds it/hacks it/steals it…for their own benefit?
And what if the data being sought by a government is characterized as “critical to national security” but is continually denied on account of privacy rights? It seems, unfortunately, technology industry intransigence could ultimately lead to an over-reaching government that eventually asks for forgiveness, from their civilian population, rather than permission…or maybe they’ll just access the information without asking for it…just like The Nerds?
Forgiveness or Outright Taking Without Permission…nobody [technology companies, privacy advocates, federal government] wins if this happens but it is possible…because we all know the hard truth. Even though data/information may be portrayed as”secured and protected”, if it is digitized, ultimately…with great effort/resources/focus/determination…it can be unlocked.
Article by Global Slant
