So I was thinking... If del.ic.io.us and others are collecting meta data, no big deal - right? It's anonymous! So far, I would agree. But what are they doing with this information? Google and Amazon deliver statistically more relevant results to your individual searches. Or do they? The results they provide are determined by the vast collective date they have collected on all users.

What does this mean?

One way of interpreting this is to realize that our technology and economy are operating in opposition to our stated values as a nation. As a nation we support - and legally bind ourselves - to values such as diversity, equal opportunity, and freedom of expression, among others. When we start basing our technology and economy on compilations of metadata, we are choosing the mass-majority section of the bell curve and ignoring the fringe. It reminds me of the concept of the "melting pot." We have realized that a better description for our nation is a tossed salad that has many unique, identifiable elements rather than a bubbling pot that has no uniquely identifiable elements.

Aren't these tools finding the middle of the bell curve? Aren't major business decisions being influenced by this metadata?