The Viagra Vote? - AKA "Data Mining and Political Campaigns" - Polidicks

[URL="http://www.politico.com/story/2014/12/data-mining-elections-113826.html"]http://www.politico.com/story/2014/1...ns-113826.html[/URL] [quote]In the 2014 campaign, many voters expressed outrage over the National Security Agency’s collection of telephone metadata, and others complained about retailers using tricks to get their emails and other personal information. But by far the most sweeping violator of privacy wasn’t the government or big-box stores: It was the very political leaders to whom the voters were appealing. Data mining has become so sophisticated that campaigns can now target voters by mashing together public records with much more personal information from Facebook feeds and consumer reports that offer such nuggets as who has sterling credit ratings but hasn’t purchased a car in seven or more years. One company even wants to get into the political market by selling campaigns data that identifies which voters sought information on Viagra and other erectile-dysfunction drugs. --- Ira Rubinstein, a senior fellow at the New York University School of Law, recently published a [URL="http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2447956"]76-page report[/URL] concluding that political campaigns have “the largest unregulated assemblage of personal data in contemporary American life.” But while he’d like to see greater transparency, including mandatory disclosure of all political microtargeting practices, he’s doubtful anything will get done about it until something goes haywire. “This whole issue awaits a really good scandal before it becomes a matter of public debate,” he said in an interview.[/quote]

Well, now we know why we don't have stronger consumer data privacy laws. Thanks, you pile of corrupt fucks.

[quote]consumer reports that offer such nuggets as who has sterling credit ratings but hasn’t purchased a car in seven or more years. [/quote] My car buying habits are none of your concern, potential Congressmen/Presidents. What I do with my money is [i]my[/i] business. Besides, my car buying habits bear no relation to my voting habits. I like to drive a paid-off car for 15 or 20 years so I get the maximum value out of the investment. That doesn't have any bearing on whether I'll vote right, vote left, vote center, or even vote at all.

[QUOTE=TestECull;46811500]my car buying habits bear no relation to my voting habits. I like to drive a paid-off car for 15 or 20 years so I get the maximum value out of the investment. That doesn't have any bearing on whether I'll vote right, vote left, vote center, or even vote at all.[/QUOTE] How do you know this?

[QUOTE=TestECull;46811500]My car buying habits are none of your concern, potential Congressmen/Presidents. What I do with my money is [i]my[/i] business. Besides, my car buying habits bear no relation to my voting habits. I like to drive a paid-off car for 15 or 20 years so I get the maximum value out of the investment. That doesn't have any bearing on whether I'll vote right, vote left, vote center, or even vote at all.[/QUOTE] Yes it does? [url]http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2012/04/02/study-discovers-car-buying-habits-by-party-affiliation/[/url] [quote]But don’t use the event to jump to any conclusions about non-partisanship in auto showrooms. A new study from Strategic Vision indicates that the kind of car someone drives can be a strong indicator of political party affiliation. In a poll of more than 76,000 customers, the marketing consulting firm found that 69 percent of those who purchased a convertible worth less than $30,000 identified themselves as Republicans, outnumbering Democrats who accounted for just 18 percent of drop-top purchases. In contrast, Democrats made up 49 percent of small station wagon purchases compared to 24 percent for Republicans. [/quote] Before you bitch about fox news, just read the article. Not really hard to imagine

[QUOTE=sloppy_joes;46818464]Yes it does? [url]http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2012/04/02/study-discovers-car-buying-habits-by-party-affiliation/[/url] Before you bitch about fox news, just read the article. Not really hard to imagine[/QUOTE] No, it doesn't. I'm one of those outliers that doesn't identify with [i]any[/i] political party. I have no affiliation. I lean to the left on some issues(Social issues, primarily, I have no problem with and in fact welcome DC mandating gay marriage being legal and giving us universal healthcare among other things), I lean to the right on some issues(Automotive, emissions, firearms ownership I'm [i]heavily[/i] red on), I have no strong opinion either way on most issues(Pretty much any issue that doesn't effect my day-to-day life is one I just shrug on), still others I fall in the middle on(Stuff like drug laws, privacy, etc). My choice in auto and the frequency of buying same has no bearing on that. Matter of fact I have almost zero interest in politics to begin with. I don't care what party you or Candidate Dicksmear identify with, I don't care what bullshit they're spoonfeeding the masses to get elected. I'm probably not going to waste my time voting anyway seeing as every single person on that congressional/presidential ballot is equally corrupt and equally self serving. I honestly think 525 lawnmowers and a weed whacker would make for a more efficient government. Edit: The truly funny thing is that poll doesn't even apply to me. It's looking at [i]new[/i] car purchases. I don't want a new car, none of them appeal to me, and even if they did the best I could hope to afford would be a chevy aveo. My parent's credit is absolute shit and I'm perpetually broke, so there's no way in hell I'd be able to get a loan on anything <20 years old. I somehow destroy my truck I have to find something in the sub-$1500 range to replace it with. I'm in the "Too poor to be picky about car choice beyond 'This is the best running of the junkheaps'" bracket. [editline]30th December 2014[/editline] [QUOTE=MoonlessNight;46818447]How do you know this?[/QUOTE] Go find a conclusive link between "Not wanting to buy a car newer than model year 1995", "not being able to afford a car newer than model year 1985", and "not wanting anything to do with the political system to begin with because they're beyond frustrated with the constant stream of equally corrupt fucksticks that use partisan politics and extremism to get nothing done while accepting millions in 'campaign donations' from every corporation in America". If you can link those three things beyond a shadow of a doubt I will rescind my statement.

[QUOTE=sloppy_joes;46818464]Yes it does? [url]http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2012/04/02/study-discovers-car-buying-habits-by-party-affiliation/[/url] Before you bitch about fox news, just read the article. Not really hard to imagine[/QUOTE] correlation = causation oh wait

[QUOTE=TestECull;46824004]Go find a conclusive link between "Not wanting to buy a car newer than model year 1995", "not being able to afford a car newer than model year 1985", and "not wanting anything to do with the political system to begin with because they're beyond frustrated with the constant stream of equally corrupt fucksticks that use partisan politics and extremism to get nothing done while accepting millions in 'campaign donations' from every corporation in America". If you can link those three things beyond a shadow of a doubt I will rescind my statement.[/QUOTE] Do you think different voter groups (left, right, non-voter) drive the exact same cars? Are green voters as likely to drive big SUVs as other groups? The answer is no and it follows that the car you drive provides an indication, albeit small, of your political position. These patterns become apperant through data mining.

[QUOTE=TestECull;46824004]No, it doesn't. I'm one of those outliers that doesn't identify with [i]any[/i] political party. I have no affiliation. I lean to the left on some issues(Social issues, primarily, I have no problem with and in fact welcome DC mandating gay marriage being legal and giving us universal healthcare among other things), I lean to the right on some issues(Automotive, emissions, firearms ownership I'm [i]heavily[/i] red on), I have no strong opinion either way on most issues(Pretty much any issue that doesn't effect my day-to-day life is one I just shrug on), still others I fall in the middle on(Stuff like drug laws, privacy, etc). My choice in auto and the frequency of buying same has no bearing on that. Matter of fact I have almost zero interest in politics to begin with. I don't care what party you or Candidate Dicksmear identify with, I don't care what bullshit they're spoonfeeding the masses to get elected. I'm probably not going to waste my time voting anyway seeing as every single person on that congressional/presidential ballot is equally corrupt and equally self serving. I honestly think 525 lawnmowers and a weed whacker would make for a more efficient government. Edit: The truly funny thing is that poll doesn't even apply to me. It's looking at [i]new[/i] car purchases. I don't want a new car, none of them appeal to me, and even if they did the best I could hope to afford would be a chevy aveo. My parent's credit is absolute shit and I'm perpetually broke, so there's no way in hell I'd be able to get a loan on anything <20 years old. I somehow destroy my truck I have to find something in the sub-$1500 range to replace it with. I'm in the "Too poor to be picky about car choice beyond 'This is the best running of the junkheaps'" bracket. [editline]30th December 2014[/editline] Go find a conclusive link between "Not wanting to buy a car newer than model year 1995", "not being able to afford a car newer than model year 1985", and "not wanting anything to do with the political system to begin with because they're beyond frustrated with the constant stream of equally corrupt fucksticks that use partisan politics and extremism to get nothing done while accepting millions in 'campaign donations' from every corporation in America". If you can link those three things beyond a shadow of a doubt I will rescind my statement.[/QUOTE] You are so naive if you think you are some kind of special outlier. There are patterns everywhere and the car is just one of the features they use to data mine, they have a lot more and I bet you are not an outlier at all. They are also not looking for causation but correlation, that's more than enough for them to find strong supporters.

[QUOTE=bunguer;46835018]You are so naive if you think you are some kind of special outlier.[/quote] I don't see how it's naive to figure I'm an outlier when I'm in a very small minority that just don't give a shit either way as long as the morons in office aren't starting nuclear wars. [quote] There are patterns everywhere and the car is just one of the features they use to data mine[/quote] Which won't work on me at all. I don't have the choice when it comes to cars, I have to buy what I can afford and if that means buying a '93 Geo MEtro then by god I'll be driving a fucking Geo Metro. I don't want that car, matter of fact I loathe the Geo Metro, but when your budget is 'Whatever runs the best out of the junkheaps on the $1500-and-under lot' you don't have much room to be picky. You buy whatever car they have that's in the best condition. And that's the budget I have for a new car. Even if I did have the luxury of being picky about cars politics won't play into it. I don't go looking at cars thining 'Mmmmmmmm, I love the Republican party [i]soooo much[/i] that I'll choose something that Jeb Bush would buy'. No, instead I'll be thinking things like 'Will this last for 30 years?' 'How fun is this to drive?' 'Is it going to be easy for me to work on?'. [quote] and I bet you are not an outlier at all.[/quote] I'm an outlier. Very few people refuse to affiliate with any political party. But I do. I'm not an independent, I'm not a republican, I'm not a democrat, I'm not a pastafanarian. If I had to put something down I'm in the 'I don't give a shit about politics' party. Most people, if pressed, will pick one. I won't. I'll just tell the pollsters to go find someone else to bother, that I'm not into politics, that I don't have a party, and that if they keep harassing me there'll be a couple local cops helping them leave. [quote]They are also not looking for causation but correlation, that's more than enough for them to find strong supporters.[/QUOTE] They'd be best served not even wasting their time mining me, then. I don't care about the lies they'll spoonfeed me to try to get my vote. I don't care about them. I don't think they're fit for office. I'm not going to vote for them anyway and there's fuck all any of them can do to change my mind.

[QUOTE=Groat;46824277]correlation = causation oh wait[/QUOTE] mindlessly repeating "correlation does not equal causation" whenever anybody pulls up a study that establishes a link between two factors makes you look like an idiot when nobody is taking about causation to begin with