Ever felt you were being watched? Or listened to?
Online display ad algorithms, AI in social media ad targeting, recent news earlier this year that Amazon has thousands of workers listening to Amazon Echo aka Alexa voice assistant recordings – it’s all getting a bit Big Brother, isn’t it?
As a digital marketing consultant, I’m using these algorithms to help clients target new prospective customers, but I’m also at the same time making sure that my own personal privacy settings reflect my own personal preferences.
Our friends at BJ&A released a very interesting blog today that’s worth reading if you are interested in this area. As they say:
“One of the dilemmas we face with online advertising is identifying just where relevance stops and stalking starts. We all want to see ads that are relevant to us and our needs, but to what extent are we prepared to give up elements of our privacy to achieve that?”
The blog refers to Kantar Media’s annual Dimension study. Across the five markets covered (UK, USA, China, France, Brazil), and a total sample of 5,000 connected adults, 61% say they prefer to see ads relevant to their particular interests. 54% object to being targeted as a result of their past online behaviour.
And by the way, if you want to check your privacy settings for your Alexa or similar virtual assistants, this Forbes article is worth a read.