Cos this is seriously creepy: The televised revolution: how the TV set watches you:
By 2011, Sky says it will be able to deliver directed advertising ("Smart TV") by using viewers' set-top boxes to insert commercials targeted to them individually. "All the boxes with a particular profile will take a decision and play a particular advert," Thexton says. "It could be regional, it may link to demographics and age range. The viewer isn't aware of being targeted."...
Smart TV adds a whole other dimension. "What we'd really like to do is match your digital media consumption - the websites you visit, the TV programmes you watch, the radio stations you listen to - to your shopping behaviour," Humby says.
Linked-in media data is the dream. "If I knew your whole transaction profile - restaurants, travel, fashion - that could be immensely powerful," adds Humby. "You'd need a consent-based model, but you'd understand every aspect of a person's life. The credit-card data tells you how they live generally, the supermarket data tells you their motivations, the media data tells you how to talk to them. If you have those three things, you're in marketing nirvana."
Ick, ick, ick.
Interesting:
Although it was difficult to change language, it could be done if the country's political and community leaders made an effort to use different words, Mr Dellal said."Language reflects attitudes. "If people change their language, it will filter through (to behaviour)."
For context, it's an article in The Age, Labor wages war on language of terrorism, and it starts:
Nearly eight years after the September 11 attacks, the Federal Government is reviewing the official language used to discuss terrorism."Experience has shown that the language used to describe terrorism can be counter-productive," Attorney-General Robert McClelland said.
"Certain words have the potential to glorify terrorism and terrorists, while others can cause anxiety among Australians and create divisions within and between communities."
Of particular concern to the Government are phrases that specifically link religion to terrorism, such as "jihad" and "Islamic extremists". The "war on terrorism" as well as its more American-style cousin, "the war on terror", are also in the Government's sights.