privacy | Internet Marketing Blog

Does your company overestimate the value of an email address?

It may not be the new kid on the block, but email is, for many companies, one of the most effective and profitable digital marketing channels.

It's not hard to understand why: an email address, like a physical address or phone number, gives companies a means to connect with a known individual across time and space, making it a compelling medium for relationship-building.

by Patricio Robles 14 December 2012 17:43pm 6 comments

Facebook ditches democracy: what it means for marketers

In 2009, perhaps motivated in part by its past privacy blunders, Facebook decided to do what few companies its size would ever consider: allow its users to have a say in how the social network was governed.

Over 600,000 Facebook users participated in the company's inaugural vote, although it noted that this represented a "small" fraction of its user base, which numbered just 200m at the time. But the company was excited about its democratic direction, writing "We are hopeful that there will be greater participation in future votes."

by Patricio Robles 11 December 2012 14:40pm 1 comment

Is Facebook's AdSense finally on the way?

Some investors and analysts are increasingly bullish on Facebook's prospects for solving the social networking monetization riddle, something reflected in the recent increase in the company's share price.

Assuming that they're right, one thing remains to be seen: what Facebook's cash cow will be. One thing is not in question, however: there is no shortage of monetization ideas the company could conceivably pursue.

by Patricio Robles 07 December 2012 13:58pm 0 comments

The ad industry responds to Microsoft's Do Not Track plans

It's not a surprise that Microsoft's plan to effectively make enabling Do Not Track (DNT) an opt-out decision instead of an opt-in decision when setting up Internet Explorer 10 is not going over well with players in the digital advertising industry.

Online ads are a multi-billion dollar industry and while most would agree that changes resulting from consumer privacy concerns are inevitable, Microsoft's approach to Do Not Track goes further than it should.

by Patricio Robles 24 September 2012 14:44pm 8 comments

Company taunts ICO: sue us over cookie law

The ICO's cookie law has been, for many companies, a major headache. After being given an extra year to find compliance solutions -- an acknowledgment that complying wouldn't necessarily be painless -- companies were finally forced to implement them.

Those that don't could find themselves facing steep fines, and in an effort to show that it's serious about enforcement, the ICO earlier this year indicated that it would be contacting 50 high-traffic UK websites about their compliance.

by Patricio Robles 06 September 2012 14:05pm 5 comments

Facebook's Custom Audiences targeting allows advertisers to stalk their customers

For advertisers obsessed with racking up 'Likes' on the world's largest social network, reality can be harsh: not every consumer you're targeting is going seek you out and like you on Facebook.

So what are advertisers to do? Facebook may have the answer.

by Patricio Robles 04 September 2012 16:02pm 8 comments

Microsoft's IE10 Do Not Track plans set the stage for industry battle

In June, Microsoft announced that it was putting its weight behind Do Not Track (DNT) efforts and would ship the next version of Internet Explorer with a DNT preference enabled.

A week later, the company's plans were called into question as it became clear that Microsoft's approach would run afoul of the current DNT specification draft, which states that a browser can't send a DNT preference "without a user's explicit consent."

So where does Microsoft stand now?

by Patricio Robles 08 August 2012 16:13pm 7 comments

Apple finds itself playing defense in the App Store

Life is generally pretty easy for Apple. Consumers love its products, which they continue to snap up at a rapid pace, and the company's iOS ecosystem is arguably the most impressive around.

But the past week has been anything but easy for the Cupertino-based tech giant.

by Patricio Robles 06 July 2012 20:52pm 3 comments

The next cookie law deadline is approaching

In the UK the deadline for compliance with the EU cookie law has come and gone and either you worked like crazy to get your site reconfigured to be in compliance or you decided to wait it out and see what happened. (Lots of us are still waiting).

But are you ready for the next deadline?

For those of you who have implemented a solution and collected your consumer’s consent regarding cookies you may not know that there is another deadline coming on or around the 26th of June. The date by which at least 35% of third party cookies will have been deleted.

It seems like storing the cookie preference in a cookie may not be the best solution, but are their other options? Yes, Device ID.

With Device ID a website owner gets to have the value exchange discussion with a consumer just once and then to store their preference in a way that doesn’t get deleted every time a consumer clears their cookies.

by Troy Norcross 20 June 2012 12:18pm 24 comments

Consumer attitudes to data privacy [infographic]

One in three consumers now regard their personal information as a tradable commodity, according to stats from a DMA survey of 1,020 adults.

These consumers are prepared to share their details for marketing purposes, as long as they trust the brand in question, while others would 'sell' their data for a discount.

by Graham Charlton 20 June 2012 10:01am 0 comments