Wednesday, 20 October 2010

Privacy and personalisation, doublethink?

Although the idea of Facebook, or indeed the internet, was a far flung dream way back in 1949, the premise behind George Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four has been ringing alarmingly true in recent times. He may have been over 20 years out with his timing*, but the idea of a world with ubiquitous screens keeping a constant eye on the masses, tracking people in their everyday lives and monitoring their behaviour is not so much science fiction anymore, it’s social fact.

The focus on privacy concerns around Social Networking sites such as Facebook and foursquare, the apps consumers use on these sites and the ubiquity of devices like the iPhone and Android smartphones has resulted in a very interesting environment for marketers. The ability to personalise digital marketing efforts through usage patterns and profile information garnered from Facebook and the like can result in an exceptional user experience, which in turn can result in users providing even more information to further customise the experience, and interact with your brand. Alternatively, if not used appropriately, or implemented poorly, it can result in a severe breach of trust and damage the relationship you already have.

This fine line is not always noticeable, and sometimes the allure of being smart for smart’s sake can be too tempting.

*Mark Zuckerberg (founder of Facebook) was in fact born in 1984 – coincidence?