Weekly Insights: Who’s Watching You?

Photo: iStock.com/gulfix
Photo: iStock.com/gulfix

In our modern times, it should come as no surprise to learn that companies – and sometimes venues – are tracking our every move. But a recent announcement by the Las Vegas Convention Center is raising a few eyebrows: they’ve teamed up with Wi-Fi provider Cox Business to location-track all mobile devices. While they’re promising that no personally identifiable user information will be shared without permission, it’s likely that some attendees will be uncomfortable. Right now, the only way to opt-out is to turn Wi-Fi and Bluetooth off for your device.

This isn’t the first time such a system will be used. A few years back, vendors received flack about the use of RFID badges that tracked attendee movements around the show. But what is the balance between offering attendees free use of Wi-Fi and using that to gather information about them? Is it worth the price, both to attendees and the organizer/venue? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

And on a related topic … everybody talks about “Big Data,” but do you really know what that means? Jo-Anne Kelleway from The InfoSalons Group sheds some light on the topic and why the term is being thrown around incorrectly much of the time in this article on International Meetings Review.

 

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