Hello CC,
Recently I received a letter from Stanford saying I was invited to their Highschool Summer Program thingy… blah blah blah …
They said they only select the top few students in the country. But I am an 8th grader who never took the SAT. How did they find me?
*I took one of their courses once on Coursera
Are your parents Facebook users? Ask them about all the pointed ads that appear on the left and right panels of their FB page. Even for yourself. Do you see all the ads that appear on this page? Did you ever wonder why the schools are mostly local universities? Because THEY KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE. And they know your parents’ online shopping/search preferences.
This is called “big data” and it drives marketing.
By the way, these are designed to give you a good experience – but also to make lots of money. Remember that.
Nope no one in my family uses social media. And I live in NY.
So the local thing is probably not true.
My point is that marketing is very sophisticated. Something about your profile fit the marketers’ data filter and you got the letter. Wait until you start your Jr and Sr years – and the onslaught of college brochures and emails that pile on top of you.
@T26E4 true. Thanks!