Getting targeted

Technology is generally fun because it enables us to do things we could never do before, but several times this week I have been reminded that despite all the positive impact exciting innovation has had on our lives, it does have its downside.

Mobile telephony is a good example of a technology that has had many positive effects, but it also has a downside. While I could not function happily without my cellphone, I am fast becoming more than a little irritated by the increasing number of commercial messages being sent by SMS.

In addition to creating the expectation that everyone should be available to take a call at almost any time of the day, any day of the week, any where they happen to be, the mobile phone has provided the means for every advertiser to target you wherever you are. Nowhere is safe.

Another example of a good technology going bad is Bluetooth. It`s great for enabling hands-free communication, but advertisers have already used it to transmit music samples from posters of recording artists. It`s only a matter of time before advertisers explore the possibilities of pushing messages to any cellphone with Bluetooth activated.

The bad news is that it is only going to get worse, thanks to the proliferation of new communication channels that are being enabled by technology. Remember when business e-mail inboxes were filled only with business-related correspondence and the odd internally circulated joke or funny pic, and personal inboxes were filled only by messages from people you knew?

It was inevitable that the now familiar phenomenon of spam would migrate to mobile messaging, but the increasing frequency of mobile spam messages has made it distressingly obvious that in the not too distant future, there will literally be nowhere to hide from advertisers.

While IT continues to bring many benefits at a dizzying pace, it sadly seems to be on the verge of posing one of the biggest threats to our privacy.

Warwick Ashford

Personal video recorders may have empowered the consumer to skip adverts, but advertisers are striking back with interactive commercials on TV and even bus shelters. The reality is that technology has given advertisers a variety of new ways to grab attention and engage audiences.

As the cost of video displays and projection decreases, fewer and fewer blank surfaces will be free of advertising. Thanks to technology, it could become impossible to look anywhere in public areas without seeing some sort of commercial message, albeit disguised as entertainment. Fortunately, costs are still high enough to prevent video screens from appearing on every street, but the time will certainly come when cost is no longer a barrier.

Already, the revolution has begun. A quick search of the Internet shows there a several advertising companies in Europe and the US offering video services to deliver high quality animations and images in any lighting conditions. They`ve realised that technology can make advertising fast, mobile, flexible and above all, smart.

It`s the "smart" part that worries me. Advertisers have already harnessed video, wireless, Web, networking, server and global positioning technology to enable them to push products to specific display screens at particular times of the day, such as coffee in the morning and beer in the evening. How long will it be before advertising becomes highly personal?

In an unpleasant foretaste of what personal advertising could be like, earlier this week I received an SMS punting some brand of slimming tea. Imagine activating an advert for a similar product or some other embarrassingly personal service every time you go near a video panel in public.

As radio frequency identification (RFID) becomes ubiquitous, the opportunities for highly personal adverts could proliferate. In the light of this threat, I am beginning to think anti-RFID lobby groups may have a point when it comes to concerns about invasion of privacy.

The worrying part is that the technology to make this scenario a reality already exists. Advertising companies have started building prototypes of video displays that use a camera and facial recognition software to detect gender and adapt the advertising material accordingly.

It seems we need to get real about the fact that advertising content targeted at individuals based on gender, ethnicity, income and spending habits is no longer something out of science fiction, but a potential threat to our privacy in the relatively near future.

While IT continues to bring many benefits at a dizzying pace, it sadly seems to be on the verge of posing one of the biggest threats to our privacy.

Hopefully, common sense and regulations will prevail, otherwise privacy could become extremely rare in future and we`ll be signing petitions to protect our rights to a commercial message-free life.