The Privacy Paradox and the GDPR

byAlexEvans

11.9K followers

6 years ago

Leading up to the 25 the of May 2018 the internet was abuzz with everything GDPR, sort of reminiscent of the fever pitch that surrounded the Y2K bug back in 2000. The sky didn't fall back then and it didn't fall at one minute past 12 on the 25th.

What did happen was some multi-million dollar private lawsuits were brought against some of the big players of the online world under the new legislation.

I am a garage man from garage land but you kind of lost me there, in the build much was made of the penalties that were going to be imposed, the 20 million euros and or 4%, of your global turnover, I think it would be fair to say that the majority of commercial internet content creators were running scared and for the scammers, spammers, and less savory types it was and will be business as usual. So the dodgy internet dudes and dudettes the ones that are most likely to use or try to obtain private data will continue to do so. In fact, they will be laughing all the way to the bank with their new implied right to be forgotten.

The dust has settled and although I am waiting every day for the sky to fall, it hasn't yet, big yellow is up there shinning away, I think that it is where it will stay. One thing I can say for sure from observation the UX of many sites has departed the earth and is now somewhere north of mars.

The GDPR is an interesting piece of legislation and from another observation, many do not fully understand especially the folks that it was designed to protect. Ask and many will have no idea what so ever, in general, we have this notion that business, governments have too much information and collect too much information so in some way our rights have been violated.

The simple solution is just to stay indoors, disconnect your phone line, turn your smartphone off and never set a foot outside again and never ever purchase anything online, ever again and you should be right, living with no worries. When you run out of groceries just get online and order some in, then jump off the internet again.

Much of what we have today technology wise is down to the masses of consumer information that has been collected much of the advances that are being researched and the innovations that are in the pipeline are down to that, as consumers we lap up every new thing that comes to the market.

Some sidetracking facts, this is the first quarter of this century where the sale of smartphones has not grown, so what is going to happen post-smartphone?

Hold on I am just getting into voice search and I quite like how " me mate Google" keeps me up to date with what's going on around me, helps me to be super organized right down to the best routes to take and the time I should be stepping out the front door to make that meeting in the city and it is amazing.

What is the future shaping up like?

Just returning to the here and now, I have some misgivings, kind of not sure about the whole deal, the thing is that every time I whip out that card technologies are facilitating the collection, distribution, and manipulation of information. Still being chased and stalked by targeted advertising based on my interests. Commercial interests will continue to leverage information pushing the envelope there is so much at stake in the world of commerce. it is rapidly becoming an inter country and cultural rivalry.

A sidetracking thought for every $100 dollar's spent online $28 dollars goes to Amazon, Alibaba is snapping at their heals so we are in for some interesting times and with the advances, of technology in that e-commerce sector artificial intelligence will become prime real estate, great time to be entering or to be in the affiliate marketing world.

Which country is winning the patents race?

The thing is the technology has advanced to the degree that even with fledgling attempts to rain it in by legislation the horse has long gone. The focus seems to be on the surface activity the real deal is subterranean. I had to laugh a supermarket chain got caught out using facial recognition technologies in another country than that of the parent, in passing they were just investigating the use, in the interests of customer safety.

OK, that sounds like a reasonable reason, carry on chaps, the food distribution business isn't that competitive, so it doesn't matter go for it.

Really.

The privacy paradox

We basically get upset that governments and commercial interests are collecting information about us, it sets up a mindset to protect our information, that we are being spied on. In essence, we have an intent when it comes to disclosing our private information, however, it seems that we display a different behavior when it comes to the disclosure of personal information, we tend to freely give our information away.

It is paradoxical, lets all take off and chase a couple of windmills.

So as internet creatures we say one thing but act differently just as we do as consumers and I guess to a degree in life, life. There is a sense of futility when it comes to managing personal data most folks have a plethora of information that we have under our perceived control, combine this with the numerous data breaches that occur on a regular basis, and there is a sense of futility about the whole deal, there is almost a weariness and fatigue when it actually comes to privacy, " privacy fatigue "is a real thing. A new phenomenon, another stress in our already busy lives.

"So asking somebody if they give you permission to collect their data, recording their email address or other personal data and telling them that by using this service or product that you will make the assumption that they are OK with that ".

Don't lose any sleep,

They are already browbeaten into submission.

As a member of the " fence jumping club ", you know the folks that are transitioning or have transitioned to become online marketers rather than online buyers, I can only see real positives about the attention that privacy has been given.

It gives us the opportunity to really get in there and manage the information that we collect and as marketers on an individual basis develop our best practices which can only be good for our businesses.

who knows the next time I sign up for a newsletter on a website I may even get a newsletter or some marketing information that may bring mutual benefit.

Reflections and opinions are a great thing.

Alex Evans,

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