They call it ‘more targeted advertising’. Anyone remember the futuristic movie with Tom Cruise where he was a cop who arrested people for crimes they would commit but hadn’t yet? In that situation, retina scans were used to identify people and display ‘relevant’ ads in realtime. That tech exists today but they use the unique MAC address of your WiFi-enabled smart phone. You don’t have to have an app, or even attempt to connect. They just ‘hear you’.
Interesting right? Well Cisco and Facebook are getting together to better identify, categorize and target you. People are saying they will be the Kings of indoor location services. I’m seriously considering the idea of going back to a standard non-smart phone.
Here’s a Reuters article that goes into some detail on the topic:
Cisco, Facebook to work with businesses to expand free Wi-Fi use
Another opinion on Light Reading:
In the Air Tonight: Cisco & Facebook’s WiFi Tie-Up