Internet: cookies, browsing habits, etc: who’s watching? Why? How much do they know?

Self-tutoring about the wonderful world of Internet information stockpiling: the tutor begins….

This post has been a long time coming. Lots of us spend time on the Internet, either doing research or participating in social media. For decades we’ve been hearing that where we go within the Internet is being monitored – perhaps by governments, but certainly by private entities. Why they want to know what we do on the Internet is motivated, obviously, by marketing. However, there is background speculation about other reasons they monitor us, and what they can learn by doing it. Importantly, every website a person visits gives data about them, and data can be interpreted to information.

Most sites I visit nowadays are about car repair or electronics. The ads I see that aren’t about those, however, are mainly for women’s cosmetics. Does the Internet believe I’m a middle-aged woman? Do middle-aged women tend to focus on auto repair and electronics? Otherwise, do middle-aged men who research auto repairs and electronics tend to buy a lot of cosmetics?

Therefore, I don’t worry a lot, yet, about what conclusions the watchers are drawing from my browsing habits.