The weird thing is when you talk to someone - like me talking to Mr K (not the one on this forum) and having some sort of random conversation and then without any kind of real time lag, not even a day, I start seeing tags and ads for that thing. It can be something really esoteric but the INTERNET KNOWS SOMEHOW.
When this happens I always sort of wrack my memory trying to remember if I’ve EVER looked at a picture of whatever it was previously, seen an ad for it, searched for something like it - and more often than not I come up blank. (In fact, knowing that my searches are being monitored makes me less likely to look things up; I actually keep a little handwritten list of things I want to research if I’m, for example, using someone else’s PC or somewhere I can do some research in privacy.)
It is easy, if you know you have someone’s attention and they are focused, if only for a second, on you, to influence them in some subtle way, especially if you know something about that person. Did you ever hesitate for just a few seconds over some compelling image that you saw online while you were looking at something else? That’s the handle they’re looking for. It kinda sucks and I’m probably going to end up just as sick of the internet as I am of TV one of these days - but it still beats a trip to the library most of the time. (And we could talk about how the Dewey decimal system also helps “them” keep track of your likes, dislikes, and all your little quirks!)
People are suckers for images - that’s why they are prohibited in some religions. One of the 10 commandments talks about images.
And, haha: Don’t forget! They’re listening to you!
Got a smart phone? Or smart TV? Then they are listening.
Every word you say, every text you send, every email you type is recorded, It is then sold for millions of dollars and you have no say in it.
The meta verse is going to make it 10 times creepier They are already experimenting with merging pictures of models with your dead relatives faces for example to examine what that does to trust scores. Or maybe your high school sweetheart.
Your facial features are studied as you react to things you see on your phone or computer. your fingerprints are being mined everytime you swipe your phone. Everytime you post something online, or someone else does for you, that image is examined 1000s of times by computerr and any information gleaned is added to your meta file.
This information is used by everyone from federal goverment (to get the right juries in important cases, influence elections, etc) to large corporations for adverting reasons to choosing the right pop stars. There is a reason the coming 4d internet is called the meta verse... they haven’t been able to change your mind and get with their program, so they are gong to double down. If they can’t incluence you more, they will influence your environment. That’s why they call it augmented reality.. they want to augment (influence) your reality... can’t have reality getting in the way! I think these next 10 years are going to a fast ride... buckle up!