Ever wonder how companies know what coupons to send you?

[JimB]

...had just started working as a statistician for Target in 2002, when two colleagues from the marketing department stopped by his desk to ask an odd question: “If we wanted to figure out if a customer is pregnant, even if she didn’t want us to know, can you do that? ” Source

[Richard Myers]

Now we better understand why Google provides so many freebies.    And facebook....and so many others.   I suppose that I could begin purchasing this info and begin a website that would publish it all in hopes of getting a lot of traffic that would allow me to sell ads.   Wouldn't all those nice photos and videos be of interest to many in the world? You know the videos that were only there for a moment before you thought better of it. Google retains the rights to use those videos in whatever manner they desire.  Target and anyone who will pay enough for them?  Remember all that info they collect from your emails and your searches on Google? 

[JimB]

As they say there is no such thing as a "free lunch". The article is rather long but it's very informative and will be eye opening for some who never consider such things.

[carls365]

Yes those companies, Google, Twitter and more are compiling a huge database on billions of people, especially those that Twit every day, telling moment by moment what they are doing, what they think. I don't think most of these people even consider what they are giving away. These companies are putting all that info together into a profile and know every aspect of everyone's life, even what you eat for breakfast. People are really foolish you know? either that or they just don't think that far.