Who knows what you're doing when you browse and shop on the Internet?

NEW web technology has created many unexpected ways for corporations to track your web activity -- without your knowledge. Countless advertising networks are able to secretly monitor you across multiple websites and build detailed profiles of your behavior and interests.  "Super-cookies" like Adobe's "Local Shared Objects" and Microsoft's "User Data Persistence" and data-sharing arrangements between Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and data warehouses like Phorm and NebuAd are others. (NebuAd closed last year.)

EFF is working with lawmakers to close legal loopholes that enable unscrupulous tracking, with corporations to teach them how to manage data responsibly, and with the media to educate the public about corporate behavior and user rights.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is the first line of defense. Founded twenty years ago in 1990, the EFF has championed the public interest in every critical battle affecting digital rights.  See www.eef.org for list of recent projects, litigation cases and more.

We continue to use means besides popular search engines in order to develop market assessments and answer client questions.  "Social Mention" is a social media search engine that searches user-generated content.  It seems to focus more on consumer rather than business to business matters.  Try it out yourself at www.socialmention.com.

With the summer upon us, Research Helpline will be taking a vacation for the month of July (though we will still be working, of course)..  The next issue will publish in August.

If you too will be vacationing and looking for the best deals on airfare, try a new Airfare Alert System Comparison Service --

http://www.airfarewatchdog.com/blog/4771853/chart-how-airfare-alert-sites-compare.html. 

See you in August - unless you have a pressing research and analysis matter that we can help you with.  All inquiries encouraged.