I saw an article in the news about targeted advertisment and how it is coming. I could not help but think of the movie, The Minority Report, where scanners scan people’ iris and show advertisement for that location.

I am not too sure about this. I don’t like the ads I get in the mail. I don’t like phone calls advertising stuff (even though I am on the Do Not Call List – if you do business with a company, they can call you as much as they want). I don’t want it to use minutes on my cell phone (yes, I am not signed up for unlimted minutes – I don’t use the minutes that I have. And on a side note – what makes texting 20 cents a text when it used to be 10? Oh yeah, greed and collusions by the phone company since sending a text only cost less than a penny – their markup is over 7000%. I don’t want to sign up for unlimited texting for $5 when I only send a few texts a month. I sure hope that Senator Herb Kohl (see investigation) can get an explanation and fix it. Ok, ending rant)).

Anyway – targeting advertising can be great if you are are out and about and get a coupon for a pizza place you want to go to. Or in the mall and you get a coupon for a store you are walking by. But, by participating in this direct marketing, where the carriers are getting money for sending you the advertisment, is your phone bill cheaper? Will they charge you money for getting a text? Or an email? Will my minutes be used? Can you opt out, without paying a fee? Too many questions that need to be answered. What are your thoughts on this?

Mark Viquesney