Who’s Listening With You?
// April 19th, 2006 // Technology Bits
Integrated Media Measurement has created a technology using cell phones allowing them to sample the audio someone encounters in their daily life. The intention is to better understand what media people are actually consuming in this era of portable mobile media and devices.
Using a digital monitoring system based on open-architecture cell phones, IMeasure tracks media 24/7—including media that other research companies can’t accurately measure:
Television viewing outside the home
Time-shifted and on-demand viewing
Mobile device viewing and listening
Radio
DVDs, audio CDs and video games
Outdoor
Theatrical films, live concerts and sporting events
Cell phone videos and games
Identity Woman sums up my fear level in her statement: “Just wait until it isn’t just that they are tracking.” I’d take it a step further and say wait until it isn’t voluntary.
2012 
I just signed up with IMMI as a “panel member,” which means I get a free phone and $50 a month to cover voice service. I was sceptical about the privacy issues surrounding this program, but read their privacy statements carefully and felt comfortable with what I found. We’ll see…