Any potential new service could provide a more effective platform for ads.
My business (professional assoc.) averages IE:55%, FF:14%, Chrome:12%
My personal site averages IE:13%, FF:21%, Chrome:40%
It's important to remember that while StatCounter results say something about internet-wide averages, browser usage is still pretty context sensitive and corporations are still largely IE based.
[1]http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/privacy-final....
[2]http://ec.europa.eu/justice/data-protection/article-29/docum...
> After a maximum of 10 days, we start the process of deleting or aggregating Widget Data
This make is much less nefarious. I guess it isn't much of a story when you have the full context. They are only keeping it for 10 days. Sure they are still aggregating data but at that point it is anonymized data.
It changed the way I think about pricing, among other things, forever. He makes some wild conclusions then backs them up with scientific experiments. Its a fun read to boot.
I did it again 3 months ago with a TP-Link 703 running openwrt. $22. Built-in wifi AND RJ45, usb port for io. (although I used the GPIO hooked up to is LED to save a few bucks). So that made it cheaper than buying a new remote at sears. Now I can see if the door is open and open and close it from anyhere. And give my friends temporary access to the door on Facebook.
Why is it important? Its the difference between "$297 of patented KCD IP, LLC technology"(1) requiring a monthly subscription to use doing almost but not quite what I wanted, and spending an weekend making it perfectly what I wanted for $22 with what I already had.
(1) http://www.craftsman.com/shc/s/dap_10155_12602_DAP_Garage+Do...
http://makeprojects.com/Wiki/30#Section_12_000_Mile_Universa...
The point of these is that nobody is really sure what we'll be able to do with them yet. But by lowering the barrier to entry to an affordable price, then people can tinker and come up with some great, innovative technologies.
An example that I can think of off the top of my head is imagine if every piece of food you bought could connect to your wireless network via an extremely small but durable network adaptor. You couple this with a few sensors and you've got instant shopping lists based on what is in your fridge/pantry, instant recipes, used by date tracking and who knows what else.
Longer term, when augmented reality glasses become useful it could open up some really cool opportunities. Instead of having to remember all the little mundane things, we'll be able to see them. Instead of having the world cluttered with LCDs and input devices, we'll be able to separate the object APIs from the interfaces. Not so we can fiddle with our phones to find the home automation app. It's so we'll be able to say "lights", "heat up some water for a shower", " show me who's at the door". Maybe my perspective is skewed, I grew up watching star trek. Isn't this sorta stuff a hackers dream?
The only nit I would make to improve it is to not bury the privacy policy link in the footer but say something like "We collect some sensitive data, please read our privacy policy for details." To make sure people see it up front.
Don't underestimate the power of building trust with new users.
Our Privacy Policy
Your privacy is of utmost importance to us, and we would like to inform you about our policy for protecting your privacy online. As a business, we DO collect information from you, and we do it in two ways: Information we get from your usage of the system (see Google Analytics) and information you give us (see Facebook)
Google Analytics
We collect data using Google Analytics. We use it to analyze how users use this site, and make decisions to improve the website. Google Analytics uses 'cookies', which are not food, unfortunately. Cookies are text files placed on your computer to collect standard information about users in an anonymous form. The information collected from site will then be transmitted to Google, which then compiles statistical reports based on user activity for Strangers for Dinner
We will never share this data with any third party. Google does not associate your information with any other data held by Google. Neither will we nor Google link or seek to link the collected anonymized information with the identity of the user. More information about Google's stance on privacy can be found here.
We use Facebook to authenticate users. Asides from authentication, we also request some specific information about users. They are: Name, Age, Sex, Location, Political view, Religious View, Relationship Status, and Interests. As part of the terms of use, we require these basic information from users as those data are required for security purposes. These data are pulled from Facebook to reduce the need for users to fill in forms.
We will never share any of these information to any third party except for law enforcement, should the need arise. Your data is safe with us.
A Note on Personally Identifiable Information
We realize that we are storing personally identifiable information by virtue of you providing us those data. We work hard to protect them. Nobody has, and will have access to your name or your relationship status, even as part of the matching processes. In the place for names and personally identifiable information, we require nicknames, which serves a dual purpose of preventing personally identifiable information from being shared, as well as a barrier to lower discrimination. However, these data may be used for analytical purposes to improve performance of the site.
Last Modified: 30th April 2012
Sounds like a good and noble idea. I hope they don't make the same mistake as AOL and Netflix and truly publish anonymous data. Getting this wrong could end up as yet another setback in sharing this kind of data.