How much data am I giving away?
In this blog I will explore the topic of how much data people are giving away and how much they know about it.
Marketers are collecting data all the time and I am hoping that most are using that data to understand their customers and prospects better and provide a better service as a result.
But what if they were doing more than that? What would you think if you knew that there have been cases of some companies displaying higher pricing depending on where you are based on what device you are using. Do you think just because you are a apple mac user you should pay more than a Microsoft Windows user? Of course not.
So the question is what are companies doing with your data? Signing up to a loyalty scheme with your local super market chain is a good thing right? Sure they know who you are and what you buy, but the benefits of points and or coupons and special offers makes it a fair deal right?
But what if they were also selling that data about you and your spending habits to other companies are you comfortable with that?
I have always said social media is not free and never was. Giving a company like Facebook so much intimate and personal information about you and all of your key relationships is a compromise at best. Sure they provide huge utility without a doubt but do you have any idea what they are doing with all of your data and when I say all just think about how much information you give Facebook for a minute. Â So I am sure you realise that Facebook use that data to advertise to you, but is it ok if they sell that data to other companies? Have you read the terms and conditions? Course you have not, who does?
Its not just Facebook, It is lots of companies Apple, Twitter, Google you name it they are all collecting data about us.
Between them they know everything. Even your credit card company is possibly selling your transaction history.
We are now used too if not still irritated by adverts that follow us around the internet, this tactic is called re-marketing  and is unfortunately not executed in an ethical and acceptable manner in most cases.
Now there are lots of tools that make collecting information about a prospect or customer and in most cases they can be used to provide a personalised and better expedience. But lets not kid ourselves the ability and opportunity to provide such a service needs to be managed and recipients needs to be made aware and educated as to what is happening.
So the purpose of this blog was really to start the conversation or at least bring awareness to it as much as possible.
- About the Author
- Latest Posts
Author- Speaker - Consultant. Passionate about all things digital.