Are we being spied on right here on DU, by Google?

[wercal]

88. Well I already get the sex toy ads...ok just kidding

I went back to the inbox, and the ads have changed, so they are 'live', as far as I know. I don't know why Google would respect the boundaries of an inbox...if you've got their toolbar up top, they probably monitor every key stroke.

I have a very limited Facebook account...no friends, and it only exists so I can look at other facebook accounts. It started giving me friend suggestions for people I only knew via one e-mail exchange, work related. This gave me a glimpse into the power of these 'profiles' that are built around each one of us. Facebook somehow mined around and discovered this one e-mail exchange, and made a connection. In every case, both me and the other party in the exchange were operating on company named domains (ie not Gmail or Yahoomail type of stuff). So you bet I'm convinced that e-mails are not off limits for data mining.

Now, it can go a step further. One friend suggestion was for a person I had only ever spoken to on the phone. I think Facebook knows my phone number, because my IP address links my Facebook account to my emails, which have my phone number in the signature line. I assume it learned the other person's number in a similar fashion. Next step...we use VOIP at work...my phone line literally runs through my computer and LAN connection. Enough pieces of the puzzle come together, and Facebook makes a connection.

Another time, out of the blue, it suggested an elementary school classmate I hadn't seen in 25 years. And I've moved a thousand miles away. I assume, in this case, he must have signed up on one of these 'classmate' sites...and I think I have in the past...and bingo, a connection is made.

I've learned that there is not limit to data mining....and now its a little upsetting that the NSA is using this technology, for more than putting a Carbonite ad in my face.