The Daily You: How the New Advertising Industry is Defining Your Identity and Your World

University of Pennsylvania professor Turow analyzes the relationship between Internet media, advertising, and target demographics. His position on the digital age is generally positive, but the ethical and social implications of personal information being used by companies to determine who is a "target" and who is "waste" have him worried: "We have a serious social problem,." Turow (Niche Envy) says, refers refering to the results of this new media information gathering phenomenon as "social discrimination," since its effectiveness is based on valuating an individual's potential worth to a particular company or political campaign. Turow examines the psychological consequences of this surreptitious information gathering, and asks the crucial question: "[W]hat, if anything, can you do about it?" While Turow's thesis intrigues and is both socially and politically relevant, at times his writinghe gets bogged down by facts and figures. Nevertheless, he has produced an important and insightful book. (Jan.)