Go Ahead, Push My ("Do Not Track") Button

Online privacy is a very touchy issue for many people, especially for people that are leery about online banking and shopping.  They fear someone will hack into their computer and steal personal information.  However, the majority of people continue to use the internet everyday.  This implies that either they trust their internet browser to avoid any problems, or they continue to have privacy issues but realize that in order to use the internet, they must pay the price.

The FTC has recently published a report about online privacy issues, which suggests a few pointers that consumers should follow in order to ensure their protection online.  First, they suggest that companies build privacy protections into their daily business practices in order to "reduce the burden on consumers."

Furthermore, it is suggested that consumers should be given the option as to whether or not the website can collect and share their information, rather than having consumers look for the disclosures on the website.  Website designers know that a consumer does not want to do a few extra clicks in order to find something such as a disclosure statement.  As a consumer, I do not want to search a website for the disclosure statement before doing what I have to do on the website.  Granted, it would only be a few extra clicks, but it takes time that consumers do not care to spend.

Additionally, the report listed other ways that consumers and the industry could work on to improve online privacy concerns, specifically for companies to educate their consumers about "commercial data practices and the choices available to them."  The FTC also recommended a "Do Not Track" option.  Consumers would be able to click on this option so that when they visited sites, the website would automatically be informed that consumers did not want to be tracked.  This would most likely be set up on the user's browser, similar to the cookies that are put onto your computer whenever you visit websites.

This can be both a positive and negative step for online privacy.  It can give consumers the option as to whether or not they want companies to follow their clicks as well as allowing them to use sites without having to agree to numerous stipulations.  When a consumer would visit a site, the site would be informed that the consumer has chosen to opt out of being tracked.  The website would receive this information and not track the consumer.  

However, companies will eventually be able to get around this safeguard and gather marketing information through another way.  What concerns one consumer, may not concern another and vice versa.  This may further complicate matters because some consumers could be satisfied with the stipulations that the FTC offers, but others may think that the information that would be opted out of is ridiculous.  By tracking consumers online, companies are able to improve their understanding of what people look and shop for online.  Eliminating or limiting their information may not seem like a bad idea now, but in the future it may negatively affect consumers, because companies may not be able to adequately gauge what customers are looking for in a product.

Although I have mixed feelings on the subject, I would definitely enjoy the benefit of having more options and increased security as a consumer.  There are certain websites that as a consumer I would not mind if they tracked my activity.  However, I certainly would not want a website I only visited on one or two occasions to have access.  Time will only tell, but it is a step in the right direction for the FTC to propose a "Do Not Track" button, and will empower consumers to limit their exposure online.

Sources:

http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/12/privacyreport.shtm

http://radar.oreilly.com/2010/12/ftc-considers-do-not-track-fla.html

Thumbs Up to Online Social Media

So many people and businesses are online now that it is difficult to deny the internet as a tool for marketing and improving a company or brand.  Social CRM has become a very important tool for companies, especially the advertising department and the customer service department.  According to a recent article issued by Joe Shepley, social CRM can improve customer service dramatically.  When a person runs into problems with a company such as a bank, department store, or phone company, they oftentimes vent about it online in their Facebook status or tweets on Twitter.  This reminds me of the saying 'when you're satisfied with a product you tell 3 friends, but when you're dissatisfied, you tell 20 friends.'  This spreads like wildfire and before you know it, you refuse to become a loyal customer because of something you have heard about a company.

Shepley's article explains how companies should use the internet in order to find negative and positive comments about them.  They need to find relevant information posted on the internet about their company by using standards-based search and aggregation technology.  Next they evaluate the comments they have found and thank the customer if it was a positive remark.  If it was a negative comment, the company needs to evaluate the problem and try to resolve the issue.  In this respect, social networks have both positive and negative impacts on companies.  If companies invest more money into customer relations, it could help improve their relationships with their current customers and rope in new ones, while improving their mistakes and ensuring that they do not continue to occur.

On another note, I have noticed that a lot more commercials are now telling people to follow them on Twitter or Facebook.  The most recent commercial I have seen is the 'I Choose Smirnoff.'  At the end they tell people to go 'Declare your passion for the vodka that wins on taste and join the movement' by following them on Facebook.  Hmmm interesting.  I snooped around the Facebook page and one of the tabs is for a special offer for $5 off! BUT you have to 'Like' them first.  The 'Like' button is a great way for companies and brands to get their name out there.  I browsed through some other pages for actors, companies, and movies.  It is a smart idea because the advertising is free and people can 'Like' the pages.  After liking the pages, their friends can see them and if they're curious, they can also click on the pages to view them.

Nowadays, as you browse through YouTube, blogs, online newspapers, and other social media websites, they give you the option to 'Like' them, follow them on Twitter, or email it to a friend.  It's pretty savvy and another great way to advertise a business!  All I have to do is give a thumbs up and everything is great.  However, where's the dislike button?  Pretty soon, this will be available and companies will have to figure out another obstacle to get around.  Until that day comes, companies better watch out and improve their customer service so they won't have to worry about a thumbs down!

Insane in the Brain!

Whenever I hear about new technological advances, I always think about George Orwell's book, "1984."  Is Big Brother watching us?  Or only the marketing researchers?

Neuromarketing is a type of marketing where companies test brain waves by using EEG sensors and eye-tracking devices to see what attracts a consumer when they are watching TV or walking around a store.  According to a recent article in the New York Times by Natasha Singer, many well known companies have used neuromarketing in order to learn what their consumers want.  In this respect, companies can target their specific market with individual needs and wants so they can be more accurate and not waste advertising space with unnecessary items.  It saves the consumer time, and the company money.

Why can't I just buy what I want/need?  Why do I need companies going inside my brain to pick out what they think I might like?  Granted, marketing firms try to make money by selling this information to big named companies, but at the same time, I don't really want people creeping around inside my brain.  Isn't it pretty much a violation to my privacy?  Everyone has their secret little pleasures that they don't want people to know about.  I mean, when I walk down the grocery aisle my brain waves go crazy when I look at peanut butter.  Do the marketing people really need to know this?  Well, maybe this way they would stock up with bigger containers of JIF.

However positive this may appear at the current moment, this seems like it will lead to more companies trying to get deeper into the consumer's brains and eventually invade their privacy and turn them into machines, where they produce what they think we want and need.  I think Cypress Hill did a great job summing it up in a few words, "Crazy insane, got no brain/Insane in da membrane."