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Befriending Metadata
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Phillip Hong
April 30, 2014 |
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"What are your favourite sports teams? The Toronto Raptors? Toronto Maple Leafs? Montreal
Canadiens?"
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Celine Dion. At least that's what I jotted down. Hey! Ask a completely unfocused question to me and
I'll give you an unmistakably absurd answer. People who know me enough are accustomed to the sheer
fact that my penchant isn't sports in general, let alone having a sufficient loyalty to affiliate
with any one team.
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But this social network, in a misled attempt to gather personal information will ask just about
anything in a bid to define us as consumers ready for another barrage of ads.
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Have you recently checked your spam e-mail folder? If you are involved with at least one social
network, you're probably used to a lot of messages that ask if you know so-and-so on their database,
or requests to wish someone you know Happy Birthday or salutations on a new job. At face value it's
an offer by companies to know you more, but I find it quite offsetting because it feels more like
a bid to control how you manage your social life by using their services.
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If a friend of yours is celebrating a birthday, chances are you probably already have a gift in
order or an RSVP lined up before you're even reminded by that spam. It's nothing new - websites
featuring e-card services have already tried making ad revenue off your greetings, and consumers
have been reminded of birthdays around their social circle since the dawn of this millennium. You
would think that social media has learned about the futile nature of making money off you by trying
to be your personal assistant and do something new. Especially with today's security
vulnerabilities, it's foolish to think this information could be kept fully safe.
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Some scientists say that at the current pace of ongoing innovations in computing, machines that will
process information faster than our brains will be developed in mere decades. But someone has to
tell the social networks of now and other technological companies that it's too high a goal to be
everyone's secretary. Reminding us of what we should do with our personal and private lives offline
shows a lack of that innovation.
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Phillip Hong is a columnist with 148.ca.
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