Recent changes to the Facebook platform have added fire to an already raging debate about privacy and protection of user data. But there are many, including myself, who will make the bold statement saying that the age of online privacy is over; the battle with privacy has concluded and privacy lost. What is left of privacy has become the user's responsibility to control what they put up online, since anything you put up online can become public – one way or another; the phrase 'Online Privacy' is now nothing more than an oxymoron.
The reason why Facebook has always been sought after by marketers is the amount of demographic and personal data the network possesses. Marketers can define a highly-filtered target audience such as single, male photographers between the ages of 18 to 24 residing in San Francisco, California. Any data put by users becomes a filter for Facebook to apply. But for a long time, this data was mostly static as users never updated their interests and likes, apart from when they initially signed up. By connecting Interests, Activities and other profile data to Pages via 'Likes'; Facebook has set up a system where the network and all its nodes are automatically updated. A dynamic, self-updating and accurate social database if you may.
Suddenly marketers are sitting on unprecedented levels of data, opening up a new world of opportunities limited only by their definition of it. And there are businesses that have started using it in creative ways. Pandora provides a page that is personalised based on the music you and your friends have 'liked'. Yelp shows you places your friends have reviewed and their activity on the website. These are two fairly simple implementations of the model. Imagine the benefits for a recipe book publisher to reach out to users who may have added 'cooking' to their activities or interests recently, or a promoter for a band to reach out to its fans for a concert they may be playing in a city.
These businesses will now be leveraging this data to serve rich, social and personalised experiences. But they have to be careful in how they use this data and how they present these experiences. The line between 'personalised' and 'creepy' is at best fuzzy, and businesses must know not to cross it. Companies who may be termed 'big-brotherish' not only stand to lose followers and fans; but also the trust of customers which eventually affect the bottom-line. And in countries with trigger-happy consumer organisations, a class action lawsuit may not be too far away.
As for consumers, they should welcome this change as it means the ads and experience served to them will be something they may find useful instead of the generic ads they are subjected to on a daily basis. So while the end of privacy is going to make customers smarter and wiser, the availability of data is going to make businesses better. At least the ones that adapt and evolve anyway.
- The writer is an independent Social Media Strategist and commentator. The views expressed are his own