In shoppers' online networks, privacy has no price tag
On the newest social networking Web sites, you are what you buy:
ilona spent $6.41 at Chipotle.
AshleyMarie got 1 song from iTunes for $1.29 ("Can't Be Tamed" by Miley Cyrus).
suchitagarwal spent $464.44 at Sta Travel Inc. ("Eurail Global Pass for 15 days!").
So read recent updates on Blippy, a sort of Twitter for shopping that allows users to automatically broadcast what they bought using credit and debit cards to the rest of the world.
The founders of the network and rival site Swipely say the purpose is to reveal the stories behind America's stuff and explore how much our purchases reflect our personalities. Are we Starbucks or Dunkin' Donuts, Target or Wal-Mart, Payless or Prada?
"Part of it, for a lot of people, is simply: 'I shop; therefore I am,' " said Paco Underhill, a consumer researcher and author of the books "What Women Want" and "Why We Buy." "The ability to consume is part of what their identities are based on."
But privacy advocates say that users are divulging a dangerous level of personal financial information -- Blippy has reported one security breach -- and that the sites could become a gold mine for marketers seeking detailed data on potential customers.
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