demedia's blog

Google's real motivation for its privacy policy changes is to gather and make actionable more profile data for targeting and digital marketing.  Yet it failed to tell consumers this in its announcement of the pending changes.  This failure to be candid with users is, in our view, a violation of the consent degree in the Google Buzz case.  Google should be required to explain it wants to add to its data profiling/targeting capabilities for ad and marketing sales, esp.

The recent flare-up/digital privacy food fight between Microsoft and Google (including full-page print ads from Microsoft) shouldn't distract from a key point:  digital marketers like Google and Microsoft are basically doing the same things--despite whatever "spin" they place on it.  Digital advertising is a global business whose business model for online data collection and profile-based targeting across all platforms are being engineered by Google, Microsoft and a few other leaders.  Facebook's expansion of viral and peer to peer marketing has also shaped online d

Facebook makes nearly all its money from advertising, including ad related revenues from the sales of virtual gaming products.  It's no real economic miracle, as its fate depends ultimately on major global advertisers winning success from their Facebook-focused campaigns.   Facebook's use of its member and friends data for an array of basically viral and peer-to-peer marketing strategies will ultimately create a strong backlash as regulators, privacy advocates and others peel back its facade.  Facebook believes it has perfected social media marketing to create a seamless

Why can't companies like Google merely tell the truth?  That its changes to its privacy policy has more to do with gathering more data for user profiling, targeting and online advertising.  Google needs to boost online ad revenues, help fend off a strong challenge from Facebook, and feed the real-time ad targeting data engine required by its Doubleclick Ad Exchange and related ad buying services.  New Media Age is the leading UK trade publication covering digital marketing.  Here are three excerpts from recent articles addressing Google's new privacy plan [note

Microsoft likes to suggest its concerned about consumer privacy.  Yet because they are in the digital marketing business worldwide, they are engaged in the full range of data collection and targeting practices which are problematic to both privacy and consumer protection.  Note how they are tapping into powerful offline databases, using Windows ID log-in information, and targeting cross-platform.  Microsoft will need to do a much better job on privacy.

First, the Future of Privacy Forum should do better and embrace a more truthful standard when it files documents at federa agencies.  In its COPPA filing, the group claims it is a "think tank."  No where do they mention they are funded by the largest data collection and targeting companies, including Facebook, Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, AT&T, etc.  The group's financial conflicts of interest on data privacy issues should be ad

We wish we could have Congress call in the leaders of the online ad lobby and, like they did with tobacco execs, have the executives swear they are telling the truth.  Because what many of the companies and trade associations told the FTC in their comments on COPPA are full of false statements and purposeful misinformation. 

The integration of data on users and their networks along with advances in digital ad creation now permits many more variations of a interactive ad that's based on the unique behaviors of an individual.  It's one of the key issues involved wth the fight to protect online privacy.   Here's an excerpt from today's on Google's Neal Mohan (from Campaign Asia):

The folks over at Wiley Rein--the Washington legal and lobbying firm which has long represented the largest media companies--are apparently apoplectic that the good people at the FTC want to do a better job in protecting the privacy of children under 13.  See their missive below on the FTC's proposed changes to COPPA.  Wiley appears to want to keep the FTC from making the appropriate policy changes that nearly everyone familiar with the digital data collection, profiling and targe

Anyone who has read my Digital Destiny book will see how this announcement by the ad lobby raises additional privacy and consumer protection concerns.  Here's the excerpt from the trade story: