By Zeina Shatila | Staff Writer
Have you ever wondered how you seem to randomly bump into a study abroad ad while surfing the web when you have just been looking up study abroad programs?
The world, in its entirety, has shrunk into bits and bytes on computers. What enters the internet can never exit it. In fact, all web interactions are recorded and stored as data. This data is then processed and structured into categories to identify patterns, repetitions, and points of contact. The Internet of Behavior (IoB) is the accumulation of continuously expanding web knowledge about people. The aggregate of this data contains accurate insights about your preferences, demands, behaviors, desires, and expectations. Thus, with the help of big data and machine learning, companies can now communicate their ideas to customers in an unprecedented precision such that both customer requirements and corporate objectives are met.
IoB recognizes many valuable sources of data. A company can glean the geographic distribution of its customers through smartphone geolocation. Credit card purchases and other types of digital transactions provide indications of customer preferences. Key search words, contextuality, demographics, and other elements are tracked, analyzed, and utilized for fast servicing. This is how Netflix suggests shows that might interest you. Netflix knows that you will be receptive to the shows recommended because they are personalized just for you. Digital marketing is one function of IoB. One of Meta’s revenue streams is targeted ads. You can spend half an hour searching for the perfect Nike Air Force shoes on google. Then, the first ad that appears on your Instagram feed is the same shoes you just googled. Even your relationship status on Facebook is used to target ads for you. This is an example of how businesses exploit every opportunity.
Hence, because of your recent browsing history of study abroad applications, you are being targeted with study abroad ads. The ads that will appear on your screen tomorrow are based on today’s search engine.
In summary, IoB is a very broad area of study and a new technological front that has unlimited tasks; one of which includes facilitating business and optimizing user experience. Other applications of IoBinclude allowing governmental and legal entities to gain citizens’ insights, corporations to track employees working outside the office, and supply chains to plan, control, and safeguard delivery networks. However, the big question remains: will this behavioral adaptability of the internet remain entirely positive for people, or will it turn into a negative factor as companies and governments intensify its exploitation?