Convergence

1.Convergence culture is basically saying the way we get our media, the way we interact with our media, and the way we redistribute media is always changing; media's distribution is possible through newspapers, radio, television, social media, and the internet as a whole. People are able to interact with media the more technology evolves. Media has essentially converged from a one-way communication to a two-way communication between media and consumer.
2. Creative engagement encourages people to think creatively and ultimately effects the way people interact and technological advances. For example, someone probably had the idea for Twitter by thinking outside the box and wanting to have a place where people could post their every though of the day and provide media and news a quick and cheap way to distribute content. So, the social media advanced to handle this creative idea and created Twitter.

Long Tail and Consumer Behavior

1. A business named "Puppy Loafers" sells shoes for dogs and cannot get any shelf space in places such as PETSMART and PETCO, because their target audience is very small. Puppy Loafers customers are in a small niche market that isn't satisfied by any stores. So, Long Tail: Puppy Loafers begins selling their product online so the small niche market looking to buy kicks for their dogs can be satisfied.
2. I am a "bargainer" internet user. I will look around the web as long as it takes to find the best deal on something if I am looking to buy. I'll check out most leads that pop up whilst searching and go for the best deal I can find. Of course, I will make sure the place I'm buying from isn't sketchy or seems like a scam, but those sites I typically avoid. When I shop online, I tend to look at more popular and trusted sites like Amazon and eBay, which also makes me a more analyzed user.

Response to Privacy and Enhanced Personalization

Here's the issue: people want things tailored to them, but don't want to give their information out to strangers on the internet. So what's being done is something called "privacy-enhanced personalization", which is trying to give people the personalization they want without having to know their social security numbers and where hidden moles are on their bodies. What's interesting though, is people don't know what they're clicking on, agreeing to, or submitting. People complain about their internet privacy, but clearly don't stop and think and/or read what they're actually doing. People tend to want things NOW and don't really think about what could happen later or who's reviewing all that information they sent out to order a new weave or whatever couldn't wait to properly check the site for authenticity and security. If someone's on a site they've never been on, looks rough, and hasn't heard anything good about it, they should look up reviews on Google or another search engine to see what comes up. Odds are if someone has been scammed. they're going to make a public fuss about it to see the scammers don't make more money, collect more illegal information, etc.

People want to know what websites are collecting about them and be able to view all of the information the sites are using to target products to them and see why their personalization is what it is from a particular site. This way, they can delete something they may not like anymore or add something the site doesn't know. Also, people are  more eager to give away information when they remain unidentified. It makes sense. If you're on a ship crew and get stranded on an island with an insane guy in charge who is going to get you all killed or possibly kill everyone, odds are you aren't going to speak up to him and tell him he's crazy. Now, in a heads-down and eyes-closed vote where someone besides the insane guy counts the votes for knocking him out of power, you're more likely to raise your hand high because you feel more protected from the wrath of the insane guy.

I think it's a good idea to be able to enter unimportant personalization information anonymously or through a persona on a website because it makes you trust the site; they're obviously not out to steal your identity. They're just trying to personalize your experience with their site. Knowing what information is available for your profile is very important. If I search for a cat one time for one particular picture I saw for a second on Facebook, I sure don't want cats all over my computer for the next couple of months. I also don't want anyone assuming I love cats, because I most certainly do not. If i was looking for something particular, I would like to be able to tell sites to show me different possibilities for my interests. This basically shifts advertising power in the hands of the consumers, which is great for us, because we can see ads that pertain to what we like.

One of the problems are people don't read what they're doing. If everyone would just read the terms and agreements and be more cautious of what sites they send their information to, internet privacy wouldn't be as big of a concern for most people. But of course, most terms and conditions are super long and we all just hit "agree" to move on with our lives. So, my question is if there's a possibility the next thing you sign up for is taking your personal information, will you check the security and terms or "agree" to some short-term benefits?

Also, people clearly don't like to read. I'm surprised if anyone makes it to the end of this. So, why isn't there a law that makes security, terms and conditions, personal information gathering, and everything you NEED to know when agreeing to things short and to the point so people will take some of the responsibility of keeping their information private?