Identified by and targeted for our product consumption, we will find ourselves receiving more personalized mail from products than from people. They will know us, and they will manipulate us. We will end up hating the Internet, and ourselves.
Predictor: Hall, Justin Allyn
Prediction, in context:In a 1995 online essay, Justin Hall makes the following statement: ”I encourage all my friends in the commercial sector to be generous, and trust that their product is worth talking about. Leave the channels open for people to do so. Otherwise, the Internet will accelerate the self-loathing and dissatisfaction that comes with advertising’s endless call for immediate gratification. Identified by and targeted for our product consumption, we will find ourselves receiving more personalized mail from products than from people. They will know us, and they will manipulate us. We will end up hating the Internet, and ourselves.”
Biography:Justin Hall worked briefly at Wired in 1994, during a sabbatical from his college days at Swarthmore. He started his own irreverent e-zine, covering diverse topics and providing links all over the Web. He later worked for ZDTV and Games.com and as a freelance journalist. (Advocate/Voice of the People.)
Date of prediction: July 23, 1995
Topic of prediction: Community/Culture
Subtopic: General
Title, headline, chapter name: I Am Not My Habits: On Our Guard Against Targeted Advertising
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://www.links.net/dox/tech/targad.html
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Goodrich, Barbara J.