Data+Mining

"Privacy is just a blip in history." Andreas Weigend

**Data mining**...let's see...I suppose one could define it as extracting information. Then too one could add that the purpose of data mining is to piece it together for some specific purpose.

As consumers of data on the Web, each search we launch leaves a kind of digital footprint or trail of bread crumbs, if you will. That print or trail is communicated to marketers who seek to target you for certain products that match what you have purchased online and what you have searched for online. What's more, the information that some of us so willingly **give away** for FREE on social networking sites helps marketers with their work. Furthermore, the online surveys many of us are successfully enticed into completing offer us a golden biscuit (i.e. a discount or coupon) to award us for our effort. All of that information--search trails, shopping habits and information gleaned from social networking sites and online surveys--are put together by data miners to target **you** for specific products.

Friendship--ah friendship. Marketers learn a lot about you from who your friends and associates are. The friends marketers love are the friends who spill the beans about the movies you've watched recently, the purchases you've made, the trips you've taken, and so on.

Now that I've got your attention, let me tell you about **lifestyle clusters**. Mmmhmm. A company called Axoicom has come up with 70 socioeconomic groupings of consumers. lifestyle clusters have existed since the '80s at least, but they have received a shot in the arm from advances in technology--the kind of technology that makes tracking, grouping, and "personalizing" simpler than in the past. The groupings are actually profiles that help companies determine what sorts of stuff might titillate you. There's

Cluster 26—Savvy Singles, with a mean age of 37, upper-middle income, still establishing themselves and who typcially enjoy outdoor activities. What sorts of stuff do you think marketers think they'd like to buy?

Cluster 12—Toys & Tots are professional working couples with wee ones. No need to go into further details as I'm sure you can guess already what marketers think those folks would like to buy...

Cluster 15—Country Ways are a mix of white- and blue-collar workers who tend to live in rural areas. They're secure and they've got cash. They like their RVs, fishin', huntin', and social circles. What sorts of stuff do you think marketers think they can sell to those folks?

For more information on data mining and clustering, visit Get to know Stacey, the savvy single.

"If you have something you don't want anyone to know about, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place." -Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google