Bill Smith/NHLI via Getty ImagesCute pic! (And now that you've uploaded it, a whole bunch of marketing firms know you're a hockey fan.) Ever taken a selfie? If so, chances are you expected to share it with an audience of friends on Facebook (FB) or Flickr (YHOO), or maybe a small cadre of followers on Twitter (TWTR). But if your images are public, companies are peering over your virtual shoulder, too, hoping to see what they can learn about your relationship to their products, according to the Wall Street Journal. Digital marketing companies have taken to scanning through massive numbers of images on social media sites, including photo-sharing services like Instagram and Flickr, where many users allow anyone to see what they post. They're looking for company logos, wherever they might find them. Such businesses scan those photos using software that identifies logos on a hat or jacket or can of soda, for example. If someone's holding a can of Coke in your picture, or wearing Philadelphia Eagles gear, that data becomes part of the profile they're building on you. Then, some sell the information they've gleaned to marketers who want to target advertising to people they think might be most receptive to it. Others keep copies of all the images they find and then sell broader data about trending interests.
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