Behavior Tracking: Fill & Download for Free

With the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in force, the future of behavioral targeting (and behavioral advertising by extension) may be more difficult due to the new EU rules concerning cookies and other user identifiers.Because the of the new rules regarding obtaining user consent for data collection, many advertisers and marketers will likely need to limit their dependence on behavioral data as they simply won’t have access to the same amount of user data as they did in the past. Therefore, contextual advertising is emerging as the most reasonable way forward for online advertising and may soon have its heyday.What makes contextual targeting attractive for publishers is the minimized reliance on personal data, which results in greater compliance with the GDPR.Many companies are already using contextual targeting methods.AccuWeather, an American provider of commercial weather forecasting services, has recently partnered with Comprendi, a company offering contextual advertising automation. The goal of the collaboration is to provide ad personalization algorithms and, by using information about allergies, migraines, driving, and lawn & garden forecasts, advertisers partnering with AccuWeather can display ads to specific audiences and locations influencing possible purchase decisions and interests e.g. by displaying ads related to gardening, sunbathing, raincoats and trekking products.Another example is... Quora (sic!). The site currently offers its advertisers an array of new targeting options. One of the targeting methods offered by Quora is based on questions — i.e. ads are displayed to the users based on specific questions and are tailored to the content – or specific topics for GDPR-safe contextual targeting.That being said, the future of contextual advertising is looking rather bright as more and more companies embrace it. The methods will certainly proliferate and become more advanced in the coming months – partly as a ripple effect of the GDPR. At the same time, we must not forget that the GDPR is Europe-specific and applies to EU residents and citizens exclusively. Behavioral targeting is still allowed outside EU and will thrive, used by major players in the online marketing industry, including Facebook and Google. However, because internet users are more wary of privacy policies and the use of cookies for tracking purposes, contextual targeting is something to keep an eye on.I’ve explained what contextual targeting/advertising is and how it works in other Quora questions.Further reading:What is Contextual Targeting and How Does It Work?

Here’s eight dangerous pitfalls for the maturing INTP [see Key for more info]:obsessiveness / delusioninsensitivity / passive-aggressionhypersensitivity / repressionapathy / depressionanxiety / self-isolationirritability / self-absorptionambivalence / self-sabotageaimlessness / self-indulgenceAnd eight ameliorative measures for the maturing INTP [see Key for more info]:objectivity / variegationattentiveness / communicationself-inquiry / confrontationopenness / self-expressionpreparation / collaborationmindfulness / participationassertiveness / dedicationfollow-through / incentivizationAnd, last but not least, eight advantages of INTP maturity [see Key for more info]:wisdom / perspectiveawareness / forewarningpatience / resiliencyexperience / self-correctionorganization / self-acceptancerationality / self-controlpracticality / self-disciplineforesight / self-motivationKEYThe immature INTP is easily fixated, locked in tunnel-vision, unable to see the forest for the trees, unwilling to do anything that might disrupt the precious flow-state, ignoring the sharply diminishing returns on their mental investment, all the while convinced they’re doing such important work, more important than anything else; it’s a monomaniacal state of mind perpetuated by circular reasoning and other mental acrobatics—until some future rude awakening causes them to look back and wonder what in the world they were thinking. The mature INTP, on the other hand, knows when it’s time to simply take a step back, do something else for awhile, and, after sleeping on it, re-evaluate the purpose and strategy of the all-important project.The immature INTP doesn’t see the point of symbolic gestures or social niceties—refusing to conform to customs of structured reciprocity and self-censorship—and is too focused on intellectual abstractions to notice or care how others are affected by his or her actions; nor can immature INTPs see when their passion is getting the better of them. The mature INTP, on the other hand, catches him or herself about to act on a petty impulse, or in the actual act of being an ass, and puts a stop to it—knowing that such behavior will undoubtedly blow back on them at some point.The immature INTP regularly blows things out of proportion, making mountains out of proverbial molehills, never knowing how much is too much until it’s too late, falling into self-perpetuating cycles of gross overreaction and selective amnesia. The mature INTP, on the other hand, sees the cycle for what it is—a tumbling, exponentially growing snowball that must be carefully and systematically melted away before it does any damage; but when damage is done regardless, the mature INTP wastes no time in pinpointing the deeper sources of the problem, and takes whatever steps necessary to ensure it doesn’t happen again.The immature INTP lacks the necessary skills and cognitive tools to snap themselves out of it when they get into a bad funk, and has no effective coping strategy when the waves of crushing melancholy and existential anguish come crashing in; another vicious cycle—go for weeks feeling nothing, utter emptiness, then wake up one day and feel everything at once, and scramble desperately to drown it out any way you can. The mature INTP, on the other hand, has come to terms with the inextricable darkness within—understanding that there’s no way to divorce yin from yang—hence, rather than helplessly wallow in it or wear themselves out trying to fight it off, has found constructive and/or sustainable ways of redirecting it, such as through creative channels.The immature INTP has no reliable method of keeping track of things, even very important things, and their ability to judge the relative importance of things is very limited; the path to maturity will come in the form of the INTP moving past the “all humans are idiots” phase, along with the realization that, all virtues aside, he or she is pretty much devoid of common sense and is less realistic than the average person. The mature INTP, on the other hand, understands that there’s too much at stake not to be receptive to others’ perspectives—and so much to gain from taking the time to really “grok” their values; this is mainly due to mature INTPs recalling vividly what it was like to chase their own tails to exhaustion, neglecting basic needs and other responsibilities, head in the sand as the world crashes down around them—and they’re not at all eager to go back down that road, so they keep themselves occupied, monitor their progress toward clearly defined goals, and don’t let their ego/pride get in the way of seeking out assistance if and when it all gets to be too much.The immature INTP is an emotional rollercoaster with no seatbelts and no brakes—all the whole convincing him or herself that it’s no big deal and that no one else will notice how out-of-control she or he really is—and too stuck in his or her own head to realize it when evidence to the contrary is right-smack in front of his or her face, typically in the form of less-than-subtle social cues; meanwhile, others wonder why the immature INTP is acting so-damn cranky or needy or cold all of a sudden. The mature INTP, on the other hand, is not in denial about having moods and emotional needs, nor will she or he be unfairly dismissive of—or completely oblivious to—others’ verbal and nonverbal signals; rather mature INTPs take not only their own moods and emotional needs into consideration, but also those of others—even putting others’ needs first when the situation calls for it, having come to the rational conclusion that general harmoniousness benefits all, and that the minor inconvenience here or there goes a long way (especially when your peace of mind depends upon those very same people respecting your needs).The immature INTP deliberates for way too long, endlessly waffling back and forth between warring mental factions, procrastinating like mad, hopelessly stricken with analysis paralysis as she or he struggles not only to define the terms of the choice to be made, but also to determine what she or he wants to get out of it—so she or he remains trapped in this supposedly rational limbo until some external force renders his or her decision-making moot (and generally bites ‘em in the ass, to boot!); immature INTPs have no clue what they want out of life in general, and—lacking the basic self-discipline to force themselves to choose—this abysmal indecisiveness [read: flakiness] bleeds into every judgment-call they (n)ever make, no matter how mundane or trivial. The mature INTP, on the other hand, knows when his or her decision-making process has reached a dead-end and either makes a determination right then and there or specifically identifies which missing information is needed in order to do so—and if there won’t be enough time to acquire it, she or he simply tosses a coin (or whatever) and moves the fuck on; mature INTPs don’t set themselves up for failure, and they don’t bother pursuing goals that they’re not willing to fully commit to reaching—because they haven’t forgotten how much time and energy they wasted getting in their own way at every turn, going through the motions when their heart just wasn’t in it; but if they do ever happen to find that they’ve mistakenly committed to something they don’t actually want to do, well, they just suck it up, stick it out, and get it done to the very best of their ability.The immature INTP—on top of his or her pathological indecisiveness—doesn’t actually want to choose, commit to, or settle on anything, as such would entail closing off certain alternate avenues that she or he may later find very attractive, and INTPs in general prefer to keep their options open for as long as possible, leaving plenty of room for flexibility and adaptation—since one never knows what game-changing developments may occur in the interim; however, as immature INTPs feel no sense of duty or loyalty to their future selves—“that poor bastard will just have to fend for him-/herself when the time comes”—and because they lack the ability to motivate themselves to do something when they “don’t feel like it,” they simply float through life without ever accomplishing anything they can really be proud of, which takes a toll on their self-esteem and morale, over time causing them to see themselves as useless fuckups. The mature INTP, on the other hand, has already gotten it into his or her thick skull that future-self quicker-than-shit becomes present-self, who casts blame squarely backward at past-self, causing an emotional ripple-effect that inevitably ricochets back around to future-self, diminishing his or her power to believe in and motivate him- or herself; in other words, mature INTPs have learned that dissociating from their future selves is an ultimately self-destructive (or at least counter-productive) way to cope with stress—a lesson for which they’ve paid the piper many times over, and apparently at high enough an interest rate to finally push them over the edge into trying some different (dare I say “healthier”) methods of keeping their sanity on a daily basis.NOTEThe above answer may be to some extent conflating maturity with assertiveness—colored by my being a lifelong INTP-T, for whom the path to maturity has necessarily involved stabilizing my chaotic turbulence with cool-headed assertiveness.I expect the opposite holds true for a distinct INTP-A—his or her maturation involving learning how/when to open a window and let in a little healthy turbulence, so as to shake things up and prevent stagnation.However, for INTPs who consistently straddle the line between assertive and turbulent, the path to maturity is not so distinct. It will of course have some features of both (e.g. utilizing turbulence & strengthening assertiveness) as well as some features of neither—perhaps a deepening of the personality, an individuating of the ego, and an awakening of the spirit—as I suspect that an INTP who’s “neither here nor there” would, despite being socially well-adjusted, suffer all but imperceptibly from a persistent, creeping ennui stemming from his or her underdeveloped sense of self, and would therefore need to go on a number of recklessly irresponsible soul-searching adventures in order to jump-start identity growth.

Decision-making will move away from centralized bureaucraciesToday, the majority of public spending decisions are made by central groups and agencies, acting with limited and imperfect information. That spending accounts for ~20% of the US GDP (1), and it provides some of the most important, influential elements of our economy: infrastructure, utilities, schools, etc.Tomorrow, that spending can be done smarter and faster, as some decisions currently made by central groups and government agencies will instead be made- or at least heavily informed in two ways:1. Citizens will report on existing issues and actively influence spending decisions.Today, most citizens engage through the local decision making in their government exclusively though voting- and the majority of people don't even do that. Presidential elections get turnout of between 50-60%, and Congressional elections are closer to 40%.(2) In local elections, the number is even lower: one site estimates that 5% of voters turned out for a Dallas mayoral election.(3)Most citizens don't know how the government spends their tax dollars, much less influence that spending. On the other side, government officials must constantly make spending decisions with incomplete information, which has been costly to gather and update. This system used to work because it was too difficult to involve citizens on smaller issues and hear their views.However, technology is starting to change this, led by early adopters who have set a good example. In NYC, the "311" number lets citizens provide information on what in their communities needs to be fixed, and it's been incredibly popular. There's a number of startups that currently let people crowdsource projects in their own neighborhood: other than Kickstarter, there's Spacehive, Neighbor.ly, Citizinvestor, SeeClickFix, among others. Spacehive is being used now to greenlight construction of bridges that would've taken two decades to build before. (4)At the very least, citizen voting can inform local spending; at most, governments could tie a certain part of their budget to matching citizen donations, or let citizens vote on allocation decisions themselves. Given the size of the spending, the potential ripple effect is incredible.At the same time, more active civic engagement could become a normal part of our lives. This would be a massive change. What if you saw it as part of your role as a citizen to impact our infrastructure decisions? How would you act differently?2. Sensor-enabled devices will provide real-time information either before people can, or on issues that people don't notice- and coordinate information across systems more seamlessly.Just as citizens can provide information more easily and more proactively today than they could in the past, governments can also get more accurate information more quickly through sensor enabled devices in the city. The key difference is that sensor-enabled devices can be part of an automated system that makes specific decisions instead of people, or at least suggests decisions automatically.Lots of examples here, but let's take a fire: having sensor-enabled devices tracking temperatures could quickly alert the fire department of a fire and automatically dispatch an initial team and police officers. Alternatively, imagine a system that proactively warns a city before infrastructure collapses.I don't know what technologies will be adopted first or when, but I tend to think of technology adoption as based on two aspects: benefit from innovation must be > level of change in behavior required.That equation points us to these problems:TrafficEveryone hates it, and everyone wants to get rid of it. It's a daily, nuisance that impacts almost everyone. For drivers used to sitting in cars, they won't notice a huge difference in light patterns, or if buses are using less congested roads- but they will notice if they get somewhere faster. For them, the behavior change is low- but it's unclear how effective those programs will actually be at alleviating traffic.Variable pricing for water & energyWhen energy gets more expensive, variable pricing will help people choose less expensive times to use energy. If this is done automatically, through home sensors, then the amount of behavior change required will be low. For price-insensitive consumers, their behavior won't have to change at all- they'll just pay more.Demand responseWhen the energy grid hits it peak load, automatic demand response can help to prevent black outs. Again, if this is done automatically through home sensors, then the amount of behavior change required will be low, and consumers will be more likely to adopt.Of course, cities are traditionally late adopters- they want technology to be proven and tested before they invest the public's money in it. Even for consumer technology, it can take several years to reach mass adoption. So, the big innovations you'll see this decade are likely to already exist, even if in an early form, today.1. Real gross domestic product by major demand category2. Page on Census3. FairVote.org | Voter Turnout4. Breaking ground