Participatory media — particularly in the art/social cause world — is something I’d never really delved into before this class, so it’s interesting to see not only what artists do, but how they do it.
One site that Brooke Singer was involved with that interested me was SWIPE. It interested me because, when I first saw it, it seemed like it was promoting a business and not some sort of art form or social cause. In fact, the photos made it look as if it was some sort of tool bars and nightclubs could purchase. The basic premise of SWIPE is that while information is stored on the driver’s licenses of people, each time it’s swiped, businesses can increase their marketing knowledge and reach with the information. What SWIPE wants to do is “encourage thinking beyond the individual self … toward understanding databases as a discursive, organizational practice and an essential technique of power in today’s social field. With public knowledge, there is a chance for public voices and ultimately resistance.”
This is an interesting concept because people don’t often think about this information being collected. I don’t think my license has a swipe strip on the back of it, but my license expires in March, so I’m sort of interested to see if it will have one. That being said, this site does make me think about other forms of this sort of information exchange and the fact that I have never consented to have my name put in a big pool for marketers to target their products. One thing I started thinking about as I was going through SWIPE was that I’m sure there will be some sort of more invasive technique of garnering your information — one being that I would bet there will be some company or organization that will come along that will be able to track your traveling habits through your cell phone GPS (maybe this already exists?) and that information, along with the information marketers have already taken from your driver’s license, will provide marketers to target a variety of information to you. Is that good? Bad? Do you want organizations with not only certain information of yours, but your whereabouts?
I think what is most shocking about all of this information being on our license is just how easy it is for organizations to get a hold of it. I personally don’t mind the information being there, in some cases it might be a necessity for it to be. But there is no reason that a bar that I go to one night should have full access to some of my personal information just because they can. The limits have to be put in somewhere, the problem in getting that to become a thing means that those in charge have to bring it to a higher level which would make many people sit up and take notice.
Hi Scott – It’s pretty wild thinking about how much information is out there about you and me. You bring up an intriguing point about GPS and target marketing. That is a big conversation piece about Google Glass. When you are walking through a city/town, do you really want adverts to pop-up in the corner of your vision? Another way that marketers are taking advantage of GPS and cell phones is ‘talking’ to your phone when you walk into a store. If you have turned on your locator, your phone will begin receiving coupons and steer you towards their products. Pretty crazy! But – I hate to sound so doom and gloom, so here’s some empowerment: Consumers always have the upper hand. Turn off the smartphone and don’t wear Google Glass unless you want to.
I think we’re very easily tuned to not realizing just how much information is out there about ourselves especially in terms of our social media profiles. Many of us willingly set our demographics on sites like Facebook not realizing how they will be used in the future. About a year ago, I changed my relationship status to “in a relationship” and immediately saw my ads on Facebook change to engagement rings and wedding dresses, and other wedding-centric content. Crazy how that one data point has such a big influence on content.
Wow, this piece serves as a gateway for readers to delve into the complexities of participatory media, leaving them with not only a heightened awareness of information exchange but also a set of compelling questions about the evolving landscape of privacy and technology. Well done in shedding light on these crucial topics!