[color=skyblue][b][u]Letters to Leho the Tech Lion: #2[/u][/b][/color]

--------

Translations provided by the Avenger; both letters were written in Estonian.

-------------

[i]Dear Leho,

As the world advances, governments become obsessed with data and statistics just like the corporations. Why? To make it easier to provide information to those who want to start a business in their cities and towns. Data these days are generally described as activities that occur outside one's home, which also includes internet usage, and how one uses the internet to search for something. For example, if I make a comment on social media about wanting new shoes, I see internet ads for shoes. If I make a comment about sports fan clothing, I will see ads for that as well. Granted that the only data available to the government about residential information is how many occupants legally live there and who those occupants are. But that's all they can know about residential information pretty much due to privacy reasons.

Another thing about data is that before one owns their first personal electronic device, especially computers, they are prompted with a question if they would like to consent to having data collected about them and their activities, to not only help maximize their experience with their product, but also make it more convenient for them to find the stuff they want when shopping online. Most people these days consent because they just find it convenient for their lives, especially targeted advertising and online shopping. This also helps prevent online spams, too, as not only are they annoying, but also intrusive and in some cases, unethical in the world of modern marketing.

What are your thoughts on about the local governments collecting data to help promote local business growth, as well as social media utilizing targeted advertising based on your search history and posts for you to do your online shopping from, generally making your life much more convenient?

Ingmar Saar (human being, 26)
Haapsalu, Lääne County, Estonia[/i]

-----------------

Leho's response:

[color=white][i]Dear Ingmar,

Thank you for writing to me.  I have mixed feelings about this topic because the government shouldn't really stick their nose into one's business.  What I do is none of their business, and vice-versa when it comes to their personal lives.  If it helps to prevent spams and spammers, however, then I don't have a problem with it.  It's not really that much different than the YouTube algorithm, which, based on the YouTuber's choices of videos, automatically makes suggestions as to what video they want to watch next.

If the government needs to know how many people live in a town and who those people are, that's one thing.  But if they start trying to obtain personal information such as one's phone number, social security number, e-mail address, or worse, one's bank account, that's where they're crossing the line.  But I don't have problems if the data they are collecting is actually to help promote local business growth, and I don't have problems with targeted advertising, since that actually is a clever strategy those people use to reach a specific audience.

Hope that helps; if not, tell me where I goofed, and I'll fix the error.

Respectfully yours,

General Leho Vaino, a.k.a. Leho the Tech Lion[/i][/color]