Privacy – “the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves and thereby reveal themselves selectively,” according to Wikipedia” – has become a marketable commodity for millions of consumers, it seems. Given the right “value exchange,” these people can cheerfully accept “frictionless sharing” – automated distribution by marketers to their social networks of their personal information and online activities.
What’s the right kind of value exchange That depends on the individual. It can, for example, be as simple as a sense of self-esteem, coupons or a 4Square badge.
It’s typically all ok to the people involved as long as the process is transparent, and they know who’s doing the distribution and trust them. Some consumers actually interact with brand pages on social networks, in effect, broadcasting their endorsement of the brand to whomever.
What are the chances of legislation or FTC regulation? Probably zero. Technology is growing too fast for legislators or regulators to keep up with it. Ultimately, the market self-corrects anyhow. All marketing benefits from frictionless sharing depend on relevant targeting and willing users.
These were my principal takeaways from this morning’s Gotham Media Ventures discussion at Frankfurt Kurnit by Daniel Berkowitz, of 360i; Jordan Franklin, of Clickable; Marc Hayem, of MicroStrategy; Kathy Leake, of Local Response, and Brett Martin of Sonar. Terri Seligman, of Frankfurt Kurnit, was moderator.
