By Lauri Thompson...And could this be a good thing for CE?
Your smart phone knows a LOT about you. The GPS locator tracks your steps. Your phone knows what you've Googled. In some retail establishments it distinguishes exactly how long you spent in a specific location within the store. It gives you something to think about.
A firm in Canada has a device that picks up data from any smart phone, tracking the phone's movements as it passes other devices. In essence, the little gizmo is building a list of interest codes in your phone. Taking it one step further, the company then collates the information and shares it with subscribers so that you are able to gain a rough sense of your customer's other interests.
Here's the type of information you would receive. Let's say you hold a retirement planning class. Of the 42 people who attend 24 had recently eaten at the nearby Italian restaurant, 17 had been to the gym, and six to the local pet shop. That could be useful marketing information.
If you have a loyalty card at a grocery store, they are collecting this information about you without tapping into your smart phone. Your loyalty card records your purchases and extends offers based on your shopping habits. That's why the store offers you a coupon on toilet paper at the exact time that you need toilet paper. They know! But, this goes a little farther than the tracking done by the "loyalty" cards. This is the intersection of privacy, social media, and retail.
As a business person, most would agree that it would be handy to know what other interests customers shared. As a consumer it makes most people nervous.
By the way, if you want to stop dropping your digital dewdrops all over town? Turn off your phone's wifi.