More and more of the media giants, such as Disney Media Networks and CBS, are investing millions of dollars on new research facilities to track how people respond to ads of varying sizes, locations and animations on the Internet.  We know how to measure precisely how often Web site visitors click on advertisements, and which kinds of ads draw the most clicks. But what about those who do not click, the many millions of others whose eyes merely flit across the screen?  These types of answers are what companies like Disney are hoping to uncover with these studies.  By using advanced technologies, such as eye-tracking goggles, heart-rate monitors, skin temperature readings and facial expressions (probes are attached to facial muscles), scientists and advertisers hope to uncover the secrets of how the human brain responds to different types of online ads and messages.  As findings are unveiled, they will begin to drive the design of Web sites and ad campaigns of the future.

My personal Twitter account was hacked last week. For three days, I was tweeting about my supposed 182 IQ and $500 shopping sprees. And of course I found out my account had been hacked via a wall post from a friend on Facebook: “Your Twitter account has been hacked. siiigh. Oh yeah, and call me.”

The concept of privacy has been a reoccurring train of thought for me recently. Technology has enabled our world to become more connected than ever before, but it has also presented us with the unprecedented capability to know more about people than we could ever dream. We have access to the private lives of celebrities (31 million U.S. viewers of Michael Jackson’s memorial service, anyone?). We can find old friends/acquaintances/enemies by simply typing a name into the search engine of any major social network. And we can even discover things like who was recently booked in jail by checking the arrest reports of any jail or prison website online. 

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