I'm not going to list separate phrases which caught my attention because, when all is said and done, I admit to a great deal of discomfort with the issue. I don't think consumers understand the difference between privacy and anonymity, I think an industry policing itself is laudable and hasn't worked well in the past (think Big Tobacco, S&Ls, ...).
Analyzing all statements made in this arc reminds me of how the general populace first learned of AIDS; it was a disease of the poor, it was a disease of blacks, it was a disease of minorities, is was a disease of Gays, it was oh my god what do you mean white heterosexual men can get it?
I also get concerned when someone says, essentially, "This is too complicated for you to understand." Such statements minimize both who's speaking and who's listening. If Einstein could explain relativity to a child, an industry should be able to describe its practices to an interested public. Yes, I know there's a catch here; you need an interested public to explain it to. This is where I complete my circle, I guess, as I think having simple explanations in place now will make addressing future concerns that much easier, should they appear.
There is an interesting merry-go-round going on here; should consumer privacy concerns increase and spread, a market will be created (one already exists and I'm thinking a much larger one would come into being). Another market will then come into existence to extract the necessary targeting information required by the types of networks discussed in this arc. This goes beyond the lock and pick metaphor, I think, and drops into opt-in marketing (which would be extremely high relevance marketing) because now the consumer is no longer worried about keeping unwanted content out, they've taken steps to make sure only wanted content gets in.
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"
- The Noisy Data blog arc
- Responding to BT and Privacy, Part 1
- Responding to BT and Privacy, Part 2
- Responding to BT and Privacy, Part 3
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