CEdO 540 Post#4

Bobby Jones once said that Jack Nicklaus played a game with which he (Jones) was not familiar. Nicklaus had the ability to take a skill level to new heights that was impressive even to an accomplished player like Jones. I don't claim to be anything like Jones, but I will blur plagiaristic lines by stating that Bill Tancer plays a game that I cannot begin to understand. Tancer certainly has found a niche that has real value in the marketing industry. The ability to track consumer behavior, via the Web, can give marketers a decided advantage with advertising strategies and the ability to predict consumer behavior in the future. Perhaps a troubling thought concerning Tancer's work should be addressed. I had always known that my online activity could be monitored, but this is the first time I have seen the reality of this tracking. Is this borderline Orwellian environment going too far in the name of marketing? I wonder what restraints are placed upon Tancer in his pursuit of data. He wields a powerful sword, and that power can corrupt even the best intentions. I can envision a world where every computer has a window open showing a computer generated figure watching everything that people are doing while online. Although that seems a bit extreme, it is not far from what is happening currently.
I liked the assignment concerning futuristic jobs. I have never been accused of having the grand vision, but the nature of the job market is changing so rapidly that even I can take a stab at what the future will bring. There has frequently been the discussion concerning the future of education, mainly the brick and mortar school. My high school has expanded the online offerings to give students the opportunity to learn from home. This is a great option, as evidenced in our graduate work, but will this evolve into the way my kids attend school in the future? I doubt that traditional schools will ever go away, but financial restraints may see some hybrid opportunities in years to come. If nothing else, my kids will be focusing on a different curriculum than I had, and they will be preparing for jobs that do not yet exist.
Tancer certainly has opened my eyes to the ability to track human behavior on the Internet, and I hope that his company remains focused on collecting data for the purposes of marketing. Along the way, perhaps he will be able to provide me, the consumer, with information that will be pertinent to the future of my family.