Most users of Internet applications probably don’t give the issue of cost much thought. For many, applications like Google Calendar have become part of everyday life. Signing up for another service is as easy as entering a name, an email address and a password. Click through the Terms of Service and you are ready to go.

Until recently, access to Internet services was largely based on a fee-for-services model. This was a very straightforward model of commerce, which mirrored the way that consumers conducted business transactions in their 3-D lives. But now, many online companies that provide online services and applications are doing business a little differently. In this model, information about us and our online activities – our searches, our buying habits, who we talk to, and with whom we share information – has become a valuable commodity. To access personal information, providers of Internet applications make a deal with users. Users may access online services if they allow the providers to track, collect and sell information about their online activities to others.

The fact that no money is exchanged allows users to feel as if these services are “free”. In fact, users are trading something of great value – their personal information and their privacy – to access online applications and services. It is easy for Internet firms to downplay that your privacy is the true cost of the exchange.

Among these firms are companies that are increasingly turning their attention to Hispanics. Launches of sites such as MySpaceLatino demonstrate that businesses recognize Hispanics as an emerging online market. Broadband has allowed more Hispanics to use online applications and services in their work and personal lives. In our neighborhoods, advocates and organizations are using these tools and integrating Internet advocacy into their grassroots strategies.

Like all communities, we are embracing the Internet as an ever-present aspect of our daily lives. For many of us, it is rare to ever be truly ‘offline’. Online or not, consumers should take exception to businesses that do not clearly provide users with up-front and complete information about how their personal information may be used. This is particularly important on the Internet where it is not money, but personal information that is being exchanged. If a company makes money off of consumers’ private information, it has an obligation to be as transparent as possible so that users can make decisions about how and when to use their services. This is a matter of responsible business practice, transparency and respect for the consumer.