Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
I. am. sure. many. of. you. will. have. noticed. this. when. you.
do.some.shopping.online,.using.Google.or.Bing.or.another.
search.engine..The.next.time.you.log.in.to.certain.sites.on.the.
Internet,. advertisements. magically. appear. that. are. attempt-
ing.to.sell.you.something.similar.to.what.you.were.searching.
for..And.it.does.not.have.to.be.on.the.search.site.you.used.
for.your.shopping,.or.even.on.the.shopping.sites.you.ended.
up. on.. It. can. be. totally. unrelated. Web. sites,. but. the. adver-
tisements. are. uncannily. similar. to. those. things. you. already.
searched.for.
Or.perhaps.you.note.that.advertisements.will.be.for.things.
in.your.speciic.area.of.town,.or.for.something.that.your.age.
group.would.be.most.interested.in.
The.bottom.line.is.that.marketing.has.become.one.of.the.
most. important. uses. of. the. Internet,. and. cookies. are. one.
of.the.main.ways.that.marketing.is.managed..Cookies.are.
used.to.store.information.about.what.you.do.online..What.
you.search.for,.what.you.are.interested.in,.what.you.follow.
as.far.as.news,.where.you.physically.log-in.from,.and.so.on..
All.of.that.information,.along.with.data.collected.about.your.
computer's.location.and.the.times,.durations,.and.frequen-
cies.of.your.Web.browsing.are.used.to.establish.a.proile.of.
who. you. are. and. what. you. are. most. likely. to. respond. to..
This.information.can.be.used.to.simply.enhance.your.Web.
browsing.experience.or.to.target.advertising.and.products.to.
you.so.you.are.most.likely.to.respond..And.when.it.works,.
that.adds.to.your.proile.and.makes.it.even.more.targeted.
and.precise.
All.of.this.is.not.necessarily.a.bad.thing..It.is.not.terrible.if.
your.Internet.experience.is.enhanced.and.your.time.is.saved.
by.having.things.show.up.that.are.of.interest.to.you.or.having.
the.Web.site.conigured.the.way.you.like.it.and.having.it.ill.
in.your.information.for.you.to.save.time..But.there.are.some.
who. feel. it. is. an. invasion. of. your. privacy. to. have. someone.
creating.such.a.detailed.proile.of.you.and.your.habits.in.order.
to.target.their.advertising.
