They will find our weaknesses and exploit them to sell products. Computers will allow them to be better at it, unless we refuse to participate in alienating high-technology immediate gratification. Refuse when your online service wants you to tell them about your purchasing habits. Refuse when you are offered a free subscription in return for personal information.
Predictor: Hall, Justin Allyn
Prediction, in context:In a 1995 online essay, Justin Hall makes the following statement: ”They understand that you get lonely when a certain friend leaves town. Knowing that that person just purchased plane tickets to split for the summer, you are pitched an escort service, your own trip somewhere, self-help books, some drugs to take your mind off your troubles when you are emotionally low. They will find our weaknesses and exploit them to sell products. Computers will allow them to be better at it, unless we refuse to participate in alienating high-technology immediate gratification. Refuse when your online service wants you to tell them about your purchasing habits. Refuse when you are offered a free subscription in return for personal information.”
Biography:Justin Hall worked briefly at Wired in 1994, during a sabbatical from his college days at Swarthmore. He started his own irreverent e-zine, covering diverse topics and providing links all over the Web. He later worked for ZDTV and Games.com and as a freelance journalist. (Advocate/Voice of the People.)
Date of prediction: July 23, 1995
Topic of prediction: Communication
Subtopic: E-mail
Name of publication: Links.net
Title, headline, chapter name: I Am Not My Habits: On Our Guard Against Targeted Advertising
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://www.links.net/dox/tech/targad.html
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney