Monday, July 15, 2013

Attention, Shoppers: Store Is Tracking Your Cell - NYTimes.com


Big Data Hits Real Life: Brick-and-mortar stores are looking for a chance to catch up with their online competitors by using software that allows them to watch customers as they shop, and gather data about their behavior.

Using video surveillance, and signals from shoppers’ cellphones and apps, retailers are tracking customers’ behavior and moods.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/15/business/attention-shopper-stores-are-tracking-your-cell.html?emc=tnt&tntemail0=y&_r=0

Monday, July 8, 2013

France, Too, Is Sweeping Up Data, Newspaper Reveals - NYTimes.com

PARIS — Days after President François Hollande sternly told the United States to stop spying on its allies, the newspaper Le Monde disclosed on Thursday that France has its own large program of data collection, which sweeps up nearly all the data transmissions, including telephone calls, e-mails and social media activity, that come in and out of France.

More at: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/05/world/europe/france-too-is-collecting-data-newspaper-reveals.html?emc=tnt&tntemail0=y

Want Your Data Back? Pay Me - NYTimes.com

Hmm. If the government can spy on my online life, maybe I should be able to profit.

More at: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/07/business/mutfund/want-your-data-back-pay-me.html?emc=tnt&tntemail0=y&_r=0

Technology Workers Are Young (Really Young) - NYTimes.com

In case you could not figure it out from the cubicle dogs and Nerf guns, a vast number of the workers in the technology industry are young and male. How young may surprise you: a new survey shows the top tech companies have a median work force age up to 15 years below the national average.

More at: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/05/technology-workers-are-young-really-young/?emc=tnt&tntemail0=y

Monday, July 1, 2013

Massive data collector Acxiom plans to reveal the dirt it has on you | The Verge

Massive data collector Acxiom plans to reveal the dirt it has on you | The Verge:

One of the biggest personal data collectors around is getting ready to open its vaults to the public. According to Forbes, you'll soon be able to request your personal files from Acxiom, a marketing company that holds a database on the interests and details of over 700 million people. That database reportedly holds information on consumers' occupations, phone numbers, religions, shopping habits, and health issues, to name a few. That data has traditionally been given only to marketers — for a fee, of course — but Acxiom has decided to let consumers peer into its database as well. Whether individuals will have to pay too is still up for debate, but it's been decided that a person can only view their own file.