Targeting your online behavior
Originally appeared in Bay Area News Group publications on January 7, 2011
If not yet here, the time is quickly approaching when Internet browsing and social networking will allow the most aggressive real estate companies and agents to make “identity sales” with information they purchased about you.
My experience, after 31 years in the business, is that clients often get chosen by the salesperson rather than the reverse. This trend, which has caused woe to an untold number of buyers and sellers, will continue at an accelerated pace.
Using the ‘Net
The Internet has become a primary source of information and entertainment for so many of us. Medical questions, nearby shops, the lowest prices for sundry services or products, local weather, travel directions, locating specific people or events – the list is endless. Clearly, our searches say much about our interests and activities.
It is no secret that what we have long considered private no longer is. Small text files called cookies, and other devices, allow “behavioral-targeting companies” to track our online activities as easily as a bloodhound can find a juicy piece of beef. One of these firms, RapLeaf, is said to have one billion email addresses, most presumably connected to specific individuals and their habits.
Data collected can include hobbies, religion, age range, gender, number and ages of children, sexual preferences, political leanings, online purchases, income range and much more. Both political parties have increasingly turned to online tracking firms with sometimes notable success in individual campaigns and for propositions or initiatives.
Social networking
Sites like Facebook and Twitter, My Space, Badoo, Bebo, CafeMom, Classmates, Flickr and Flixster are mined for information about us: Favorite movies, perfume, shoes, actor/actress, hotel, restaurant, shopping areas, schools, etc. If we are “fans” of certain teams, businesses, singers or games, this can become part of our online dossier.
All this collected data subjects us to “strategic use” of social media. We have been and will continue to be contacted by those who buy lists that include us.
A number of hedge funds utilize sophisticated computer programs to sample online sentiment, what people are posting or tweeting, to make numerous, daily trading decisions on stocks. They believe this will reveal the direction of the stock market and give them a timing advantage.
Other info-gathering devices
Locative media is defined by Wikipedia as “social interaction with a place and with technology.” Cloud computing is storing information, usually large files, online. These are two more sources of data about us that are mentioned in relation to “identity brokering,” i.e., packaging and selling our individual likes and dislikes.
Technology and choosing an agent
At some time or another, you can expect to be contacted by email, snail mail and/or phone by forceful, focused agents. Some will try to convince you they know you and your neighborhood intimately although their knowledge will come from your profile which they have bought from an online data gathering service.
I have written numerous other articles with advice on how to choose an agent. To that I add: Be even more alert to whether the agent you are considering really is knowledgeable about you and your neighborhood, or is just spouting what he has learned online. Select one who knows how to use technology, but is not dependent on it or employs it to manipulate you.
One thing bears repeating: Your agent should be there for you, not just the commission.
Final Thoughts
Despite a world that seems to be spinning out of our control, we are still in charge of the decisions we make. Keep this in mind the next time you are a real estate seller and/or buyer. There are agents out there who will represent your best interests. Take the time and make the effort to choose one of those.
Related Articles:
Does your agent “Stand in Your Shoes”?