There were some phrases that gave me distinct pause:
- "If they opt out, a Tacoda cookie is set and our targeting engine knows not to serve them an ad."
- "The publishers' privacy policy will refer to the existence of third-party cookies and to the fact that data is used to target ads by other than the publisher. But as you point out, it's a hard concept to grasp for the average consumer, which is why we are taking our own steps."
- "We think that if we are proactive in explaining what we do, that consumers and our peers in the industry will recognize and be able to separate the good and careful players from the bad."
This is an interesting follow-up to Part 1 of this arc. I agree that being proactive with user privacy is paramount, and definitely agree that explaining what is being done is a good step. I wrote about just that thing in A Little About Cookies. I disagree that these concepts are difficult for the average consumer. At one time, perhaps yes, now not so much so. What is pointed to by this article is that getting consumers to accept privacy as a commodity is ripe for a good viral campaign.
What I didn't add in my comment is that the method used to determine someone has opted out is foreshadowed in my previous post. It is another data point in the system.
The final question will be the value exchanged. Is the consumer willing to exchange information for what is presented on the page? Consumers, especially web-based consumers, are increasingly savvy. That exchange is going to have to be exponentially to their benefit as time goes on.
Please contact NextStage for information regarding presentations and trainings on this and other topics.
Links for this post:
- Blog posts on Online Privacy
- Chapter 8 - Fair-Exchange, or "You Have to Give as Good as You Get"
- Responding to BT and Privacy, Part 1
I'll be speaking at the San Francisco April '07 Emetrics Summit on Quantifying and Optimizing the Human Side of Online Marketing on May 7, 2007. Come on by and say hello.
Comment Preview