A great deal of time and money is spent to create personal profiles of each of us, typically as a means to influence us in some way. Digital bread crumbs we leave behind are swept up, stacked, sorted, indexed, and extruded through a matrix of algorithms in an effort to define the patterns of our lives. These digital avatars wander the channels of servers throughout the world, waiting to be called upon whenever we shop online for that lawnmower part or for the latest fashion in tee shirts.

I think of my avatar fondly and have fun with him. (Or is it her?) Each new internet search, viewed video, or news article I read is swallowed by the algorithm matrix where it is digested until out pops a new me. The new me is my representative to the digital world of marketers, social scientists, and politicians whose keyboard cowboys slice, dice, and, shoehorn my avatar into a probability pool ranked for retrieval. On request, queries churn out reports that are read in cubicles, formatted into slide shows, and presented to sales teams which confirms that my avatar prefers a metallic red car color.

Lost are the days when corporations actually knew their customers or when politicians knew their constituents. It is increasingly likely that they will only know our avatars – to some degree of statistical precision. But what would they really know beyond probabilities? If GM really wanted to know if I intend to buy that car I searched on line, they could ask me. I would tell them. However, I think they are more comfortable dealing with my avatar.

I have a sense that many believe they have no control over their digital avatars, because it is assembled from a vast amount of data vacuumed up from nearly every public interaction. I believe we have at least a little influence and that’s where the fun comes in because you can change the breadcrumbs you scatter around.

On occasion I’ve thought about the wide-ranging topics I’ve searched on line as well as the weird things I’ve purchased only to be amazed at the strange ads that populate my screen. I’ve laughed at movie and book recommendations – ‘just for me’, and wondered what the heck my avatar was up to. So, I’ve taken to imagining creative searches to explore absurdity to see how my avatar responds. I think I’ll start with a video on toe surgery (yes there are many to choose from), explore the Zen of Cocoa Puffs (it will be a short exploration), and seek information on quantum anomalies (yes, it’s a real thing – sort of). I can’t wait to see how many podiatrist ads pop up, although I would hate to give my avatar a limp.

I’ve also wondered if we could create our own avatar to represent us in ways that are important to each of us, but that’s just silly.

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Kevin Deeny