Google, Good To Know
Did you catch Google’s full page ads in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today as well as other papers around the country this week? If privacy isn’t your business then you may have just passed them over, but for those of us who make a living either convincing customer’s to given us their data or struggle to keep those within the company who want to mine that same data at bay, it was a breath of fresh air. And quite possibly revolutionary.
Back in October Google started their Good To Know campaign, and this week’s advertising was the big kick-off. The primary goal appears to be public education. The site teaches the public about protecting their personal data. It also makes Google more transparent about how they are using the personal data they collect which helps comply with FTC regulations and European Union laws.
Why I call it “revolutionary” though is the tertiary benefit they derive from the way in which they are communicating to the public. The Good To Know campaign is subtly selling us on the benefits of Google collecting and collating our personal information. In other words they are encouraging us to give them our data by showing us the value we will derive from it.
This is something that has been preached in privacy circles for a while—I heard Jules Polentsky talk about this very approach years ago—but this is the first time I can think that someone has applied it with a multimillion dollar advertising and marketing campaign.
This is the way of the future folks. People now largely realize that free services on the internet aren’t really free—we “spend” our anonymity in exchange for the services we use. The public’s collective reaction to this realization has been visceral. They’re repulsed and as a result entire businesses have sprung up to protect anonymity. Technologies such as Tor, or services like Bug Me Not as well as dozens of other methods have sprung to life to help obscure the identity of the person using online services.
In the middle of this environment Google steps forward saying, “look at all the benefits you get when we know who you are!” Admittedly it is going to be a tough sell, but if they succeed then they have secured a future with loyal customers who willingly participate in an exchange of information, which is exactly were Google derives most of it’s value.
The alternative, what most are currently doing, is to hide behind the legalese of privacy policies but, in the long run it’ll be a much tougher row to hoe. That is a future which includes fighting against businesses built around hiding identities of people as well as increasing difficulties operating in Europe (e.g European Data Directive) and potential FTC action (e.g. Buzz lawsuit).
Google is blazing a trail with Good To Know. Those that do not follow are facing an uphill battle and future that finds them at a competitive disadvantage.