Years ago the advertising industry was hit with the threat of a national “do not mail” list, similar to the “Do Not Call” list, of which, I am a proud member. Currently there is no way to opt out of all mail solicitations, unless you go through the process of canceling all of your magazine subscriptions and spending hours calling all sorts of list services and marketers. The federal government probably realized it was in their best interest not to do this, since the USPS delivers all of that mail.

Recently, there is new talk of a “Do Not Track” list which, like the other lists, sounds good on the surface. It’s hard to say how it would be executed, but essentially it would allow people to opt out of being “tracked” online. There would be no more dropping cyber-cookies on your computer, no more targeted ads based on your browsing history, and probably no more well targeted emails based on your online activity.

Much of the digital advertising industry relies on this information to be able to deliver targeted and relevant ads to you, the consumer. Some view it as a privacy issue, but for me, I don’t really care if people know I am shopping around for outdoor furniture. If anything, it will make my shopping experience easier by presenting me with more choices and specials.

It’s true, you have to give up a little bit of privacy to have a better web browsing experience. A great example of this is Google. They track the heck out of you, but they also seem to deliver results in their search engine that are always relevant and useful. They’re using that data to create an extremely personalized and powerful experience for the end user, and yes, to make a few bucks too.