An interesting question in relation to the forthcoming class is: To what extent are we (or our customers) willing to trade privacy for personalization? According to this article, the results from the 2006 ChoiceStream Personalization Survey show that 57% of consumers were willing to give up some privacy in return for a personalized online experience.
Can we have the best of both worlds? For example, by letting customers decide the extent to which their online content is personalized and their privacy is compromised? My personal view is that the default position should be strong privacy protection for online consumers (I welcome any proposed legislation that will promote this), but letting customers decide at which end of the privacy/personalization spectrum they wish to reside.
3 comments:
Dear Kwang,
again I find myself replying to one of your posts. I agree with your point that privacy should be protected. I particularly do not care, if I get a personalized internet experienced but I care a lot about people following me on the internet, placing cookies on my machine, to see what I'm doing and where I'm going. If someone did that in real life, let's say the Jusco bakery sending someone after me to see where else I buy my bread, I would be very upset. Furthermore I do not trust data security online, because I think this information can easily be abused. A few years back, I read a very good mystery novel by Jeffrey Deaver called "The Blue Nowhere" ( http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Nowhere-Novel-Jeffery-Deaver/dp/0671042262/ref=sr_1_3/104-2573750-7019934?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193678396&sr=8-3 ), where the villain used technology to spy on people and then lure them into traps. Really scary...and I was always wondering how far away we are from this, of course not on the crime side but on the glass man. What do you think?
Hi Manuel,
Thanks for commenting on my post. I read the review on Amazon for "The Blue Nowhere" you mentioned, and the plot seems really interesting. With regards to your question, I think the Internet and its constantly advancing technologies do potentially allow for that kind of scenario to arise. Hopefully, major corporations will not resort to that extent of tracking customer data, as it could potentially lead to a major public relations nightmare, but unscrupulous merchants do exist, and so the fear is there. Therefore, I think legislation is the way to go, even if it is only good for its deterrent effect. However, whether and how the Internet (specifically, privacy on the Internet) can be regulated opens another can of worms. Maybe the best solution currently is self-help (e.g. get a firewall).
firewalls won't help too much if its an inside job though (and hackers can get through anything).
Since I used to be in Internal Audit, I can tell you that there are always possibilities for sensitive customer information to slip outside. no matter the regulation, people can still get to that information somehow.
Given the benefits of having this personal info, I think most companies are prepared to take the risks of compromise, as long as they have some reasonable measures in place.
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