Have you ever noticed while browsing through websites that you happen to get advertisements related to things you had recently Googled? You're not seeing things. Online companies can now use consumer data such as your demographic and socioeconomic info. and also what you click on and purchase through your browser to cater their advertisements to you. This is called "Behavioral advertising." For more on behavioral advertising I recommend the site ClickZ. Some may view this as an invasion of their private information but it could also be viewed as a way to see more advertisements that fit you as a consumer. Well now there is a new program that would place an "Advertising Option Icon" (seen on the right) next to advertisements or the parts of a website that collect personal data. This image would link to a webpage where people can learn more about how their personal data is collected by marketers, what behavioral advertising is, and how to choose not to allow their data to be collected. This program was driven by the same industry doing the marketing and advertising in order to prevent the government from passing laws that would be even more restrictive of their methods of collecting data.I don't think that consumers at the beginning would know what this icon means but with time they will catch on like anything else that is new at first. I don't think consumers would click on the icon unless they were explained beforehand what the icon is and to click on it. I believe this is smart on the industry's part because if someone complains or files a lawsuit they can say the icon was there. But it is so ambiguous that the consumer may not pay attention to it and then not opt out of their data being collected which is favorable to the industry. In other words, I feel the industry is purposely making the icon and hyperlink contained within it ambiguous so it's harder for consumers to figure out what it is.
I think that companies would sign up for this program in order to prevent future lawsuits or complaints. The icon serves as an ambiguous disclaimer. I don't believe that the sponsoring organizations will oversee if the companies that sign up for the program are actually complying with it. I say this because the program is driven by an industry which favors deregulation and since it's a non-governmental organization I don't think they would feel pressure to govern strongly. I don't think the "Advertising Option Icon" will be prominent in the future. It looks so vague and the letter I to me stands for information and that could mean any type of information. I think overtime people will complain more and more and I don't think the government will trust that the organization is doing it's job so government legislation will follow.
I personally have been annoyed by the collection of my data. I did just one Google search about graffiti laws in Miami, FL because I have a friend in the art program at FIU that was thinking of becoming a street artist. And all of the sudden I would see the same advertisements on Youtube and forums saying "Need Legal Help in Miami?" and "Looking for a Lawyer?" And of course I had already found the info. I needed and the ad made me laugh because it made me feel like I was the one in legal trouble needing an attorney when that was not the case.
I agree with you Alex. At times it could be annoying when a website is trying to sell you something that you don't need. From a consumers point of view you could either love it or hate it. From a Business point of view, it is almost a sure thing. Its smarter advertising and has no way of hurting sales. People are seeing things they are actually interested in instead of things that completely don't catch their attention. Sometimes I go on music websites and they have advertisements about weight lose everywhere. So I do understand how some people don’t like it. As a consumer sometimes it is helpful but from a business point of view it is a gold mine.
ReplyDeleteLike I said in my post for this week, these attempts to self-regulate seem a bit silly to me. It's like they are trying to send a message to the regulating bodies that they are doing a well enough job on their own in hopes to avoid stronger government regulation. But we all know that this industry thrives on information, and because of that, I doubt that they are actually going to do much.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that somehow the "hidden" purpose of this program is to give companies a way to protect themselves from lawsuit if in the near future regulations are established about behavioral marketing. They are going ahead of any legal consequences that this type of ads may bring them.
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