PressEthic

We pay for all sorts of things that once were free. Drinking water and TV are two that come to mind. As I was walking to lunch today, I was thinking about the great markets of the future. I came up with anonymity.

Stephen Baker at Business Week online wrote this article, in which he suggested that in the future, business will make money by giving away free services like email in exchange for advertising on our computers. They would tailor the ads to us by taking our names. If we don’t want the ads, Baker speculates, we could become anonymous – by paying for their sevice.

Jeff Jarvis at BuzzMachine picked up on this. He suggested that not only will companies make money by allowing for anonymity, but there will be a market for “anonymizers” who will bring together anonymous buyers and sellers, or anonymous participants in dating services. And commenter Michael Zimmer recommends not anonymity, but pseudonymity, which would allow people to be identified, but not allow for other users to trace back to their true identities.

This premise reminds me of the Times Select program taken a step further. Not only would the paying customer have access to more or better products with fewer ads, he or she would not be traced, and thus not sent additional ads. I shudder to think what this will do to the junkmail boxes of those who cannot or will not pay, but otherwise this seems like a promising plan.

Still, I have my concerns about the coming of a society where Big Brother is watching – unless you pay him off. Some might argue that this society is already here, but furthering it could be as troublesome as it is practical.