The InfoStride Forum

TECHNOLOGY => Computing and Internet => Topic started by: ReadWrite on Nov 02, 2013, 03:31 AM

Title: Facebook Is Interested In Your Location—Your Cursor Location, That Is
Post by: ReadWrite on Nov 02, 2013, 03:31 AM
  (http://readwrite.com/files/facebook-editing.jpg)  

As if Facebook wasn't already collecting enough of your personal information, the social network is now testing ways to track where you point your cursor.

Ken Rudin, Facebook's head of analytics, told the Wall Street Journal (http://blogs.wsj.com/cio/2013/10/30/facebook-considers-vast-increase-in-data-collection/) that the technology would allow the company to better understand how its users behave on the site. It could, for instance, track whether and how long your newsfeed is visible, or how long you hover your cursor over an advertisement. The Journal dryly noted that the technology "would greatly expand the scope of data that it collects about its users."

(http://readwrite.com/files/youdontsay.png)  

Facebook doesn't yet have plans to collect cursor data on an ongoing basis, although Rudin said it could be valuable for product development and targeted advertising. The company should decide within months whether to incorporate the information into its formal data analysis plans.

"You Don't Say" image via Know Your Meme (http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/you-dont-say)