Every time you completed a postcard to win a new car, or subscribed to a magazine, or ordered from a mail order catalog, they knew more about you. The discount cards now popular at grocery store chains are a veritable personal information database to which you contribute every time you shop. Marketers have been buying and selling your data for years before the Web. Even during last year's elections, candidates and public television got into the act. You trade your personal information every time you opt in for lower prices or convenience.
Personal information is the real currency.
With the Web, marketers now have ways to cull the information to create more complete picture of consumers. Right now marketers would be best served to build the trust of consumers by being honest, skipping the legal jargon, and not trying to pull any funny business. All rights reserved.