Web presence 68
Feedback loop
In an open system, data is collected from a user, which is used to build a profile (see Profiling practices); becoming
usable by interested third parties to improve recommendation. Collection of data from multiple user interactions and
purchases generates improved recommendations. If the same parties collect data on how that user interacts with, or
influences others interactions, the service, there is an additional component of data - the output of one process
becomes the input to the next.
The closed loop digital footprint was first explained by Tony Fish[4] in his book on digital footprints in January- The closed loop takes data from the open loop and provides this as a new data input. This new data determines
what the user has reacted to, or how they have been influenced. The feedback then builds a digital footprint based on
social data, and the controller of the social digital footprint data can determine who and why people purchase and
behave. According to a Pew Internet report published in 2007, there are two main classifications for digital
footprints: passive and active. A passive digital footprint is created when data is collected about an action without
any client activation, whereas active digital footprints are created when personal data is released deliberately by a
user for the purpose of sharing information about oneself.[5]
Passive digital footprints can be stored in many ways depending on the situation. In an online environment a
footprint may be stored in an online data base as a hit. This footprint may track the user IP address, when it was
created, and where they came from; with the footprint later being analyzed. In an offline environment, a footprint
may be stored in files, which can be accessed by administrators to view the actions performed on the machine,
without being able to see who performed them.
Active digital footprints can be also be stored in many ways depending on the situation. In an online environment, a
footprint can be stored by a user being logged into a site when making a post or edit, with the registered name being
connected to the edit. In an off line environment a footprint may be stored in files, when the owner of the computer
uses a keylogger, so logs can show the actions performed on the machine, and who performed them.
Web browsing
The digital footprint applicable specifically to the World Wide Web is the internet footprint;[6] also known as cyber
shadow or digital shadow, information is left behind as a result of a user's web-browsing activities, including through
the use of cookies. The term usually applies to an individual person, but can also refer to a business, organization,
corporation or object.
Information may be intentionally or unintentionally left behind by the user; with it being either passively or actively
collected by other interested parties. Depending on the amount of information left behind, it may be simple for other
parties to gather large amounts of information on that individual using simple search engines. Internet footprints are
used by interested parties for several reasons; including cyber-vetting, where interviewers could research applicants
based on their online activities. Internet footprints are also used by law enforcement agencies, to provide information
that would be unavailable otherwise due to a lack of probable cause.
Social networking systems may record activities of individuals, with data becoming a life stream. Such usage of
social media and roaming services allow digital tracing data to include individual interests, social groups,
behaviours, and location. Such data can be gathered from sensors within devices, and collected and analyzed without
user awareness.