Technology is evolving at a rapid pace, from a user perspective, we’re scrambling and digging deep into our pockets to keep up. From a marketer’s perspective, it’s never been easier to glean insights on your target audience and ideal client from data you’d never have access to before. Everyone was upset with the Facebook and Cambridge Analytica scandal, but honestly, I was not surprised. We leave traces of ourselves with everything we do online, where did we expect these tidbits of information would end up?
Data, data, data
If you know me personally or have seen me speak, you know that I have an unhealthy obsession with what shady things marketers are up to. Each social media platform has lengthy terms of use, but what I’m curious about is how people are exploiting the loopholes that exist.
The typical social media user gets mad at platforms because they have access to their “private” data, but what do you expect when you’re using a FREE source of entertainment? Facebook doesn’t OWE it to it’s users to be free, they could monetize the shit out of it and make people pay (not sure if that’d be successful or not), but you get the point… But how are individuals and other businesses using this data? How are the people being paid to scrape websites for personal information doing it? What tactics are they using?
What price do you put on your personal data?
So while, in some people’s opinions, I might have a warped perspective when it comes to how companies use and obtain our personal data, remember this the next time you use your loyalty card to get points for that coffee machine or flight to Vancouver:
Your personal data is being sold and is worth way more to the loyalty card company than any fucking coffee machine.
Mind the Gap: Cyber Summit 2018
Want to see what marketers and data collectors are up to? As a past Market Research Analyst, I’ll show you how we can use facial recognition tools without telling you and how we can track your habits without you knowing.
Join me at the 2018 Cyber Summit from November 7th to 8th at the Pomeroy Kananaskis Mountain Lodge, in Alberta’s Rocky Mountains. I’ll show you not only the sneaky ways companies are collecting our data, but also the blatantly obvious ones you probably never even thought of.
Is it up to you to protect your data or is it up to the companies you’re giving it to? Is it both? You can decide after.