What the NSA and Alexa Toolbar have in common

What the NSA and Alexa Toolbar have in common

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What the NSA and Alexa Toolbar have in common

Ever heard of the Alexa Toolbar? Unless you’re a blogger or in marketing probably not. Since the Alexa Toolbar serves no purpose to the average person it’s pointless to even install it.

However Amazon wants you to install it because it helps Amazon Track Your Every Move Online.
Alexa’s Toolbar page: “Alexa could not exist without the participation of the Alexa Toolbar community.”  YUP! That’s all it does. Similar to the NSA, the Alexa Toolbar tracks where you go and what you do online.

What does Amazon do with the information it collects on you?
Unlike the NSA who keeps the information close to home, Amazon sells the information to Anyone. You hand over your information for free and Amazon makes money selling it.

The information Amazon sell isn’t accurate because the information is only collected from people who are using the toolbar or websites that have installed the tracking code – properly (that doesn’t always happen). So people like me who received around 10,000 visitors per day could have a very high Alexa Ranks where someone who receives 200 visitors a day could have a very low Alexa Rank, because they are faking their Rank – keep reading.

If you’re a blogger you hope that people will use the toolbar because to ad agencies who are “Not in the know” think that this is a magical number that brings sale generating leads, but it doesn’t.

How do Bloggers use the Toolbar?
Most bloggers know that the Alexa Rank is ridiculous, but since many marketing companies haven’t caught up bloggers belong to Alexa Groups in order to Cheat the Alexa Rank.

We go into our groups, open each others pages, sit there for a bit – usually while we’re watching TV, folding laundry, playing with the kids and after a few minutes close the pages.

Yes! Many Alexa Ranks are Faked.
It’s easy to do, doesn’t take long and makes the Alexa Rank even more pointless.

To recap: Alexa (Amazon) collects your online browsing information and sells it to anyone who is willing to pay for that information and you receive no monitory compensation what so ever.

Elements used to create Featured image Artwork provided by Created by Jill.
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