Off late there have been a lot of controversies with regard to right to privacy etc, there are lot of arguments for and against Aadhar. But the question really arises do we really lead private lives. The answer is overwhelmingly NO. Some by choice and some thanks to technology.
In one of the alumni meet a friend said there is nothing in the meet as we know what’s happening in each other’s life thanks to Facebook. Today thanks to technology the charm of meeting is lost. Here the privacy is lost by choice or maybe compulsion (social) to some extent. Today our privacy is also lost due to our browsing history which helps in knowing a bit of us in terms of our hobbies, aspirations plan etc and the same being shared with the respective stakeholders.
Remember some time back a friend sharing his experience in this regard. He had planned to attend a marriage during the weekend and discussed the same with his wife. As the venue was at a distance they also discussed about the mode of transport. The next day he receives a mail from a cab aggregator regarding outstation cabs to attend the wedding for the weekend. The couple was surprised on receiving the message as they had no browsing history or mail etc. regarding the topic. Yet their need was identified. Later the cab aggregator clarified that it was a random mail sent to everyone as it was a wedding weekend and lots of wedding were planned. But the point is the fear of no longer leading private lives.
Have experienced quite a few such instances myself. Once was browsing about the location reviews etc. of a restaurant which was highly recommended by a friend. Since the place was far off never went to that place and later forgot about it. One fine day wanted to order online for a home delivery and on opening the food delivery app the first restaurant which was shown was the restaurant which I had searched some time back. Now the app knew I wished to go to that restaurant and helped me order from there, based on the browsing history. Did I order from that restaurant? A Big YES.
A colleague wanted to compare shirts available in the store against those available online. Hence he checked for a few shirts online just to understand the pricing, materials, colors etc. Post that he states every time he logged he would see advertisements of shirts everywhere. He states the ads were so much on your face that he had a fear of being stalked. The browser history indicated that he was looking to buy a shirt and the advertisements were helping him in making the decisions.
If the technology is used in its true sense then it can aid retail, help the customers in their decision making. It can definitely help retail to target the right customers, can decrease the advertisement cost and improve sales. But the line between aiding and invading is diminishing. That’s a challenge
Any such experience on the same?
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