Look, if you want to, you can put yourself on a “do not track” list in the Real World. As you walk around in our Real World, where small shopkeepers and Starbucks alike attempt to lure you into their stores, you can simply decide to ignore their come ons. You can refuse to get a grocery card, and forego the discounts they offer. You can forego the countless coupons, come ons, and catalogs that come through your newspaper, browser, or your community mailer, and if you work at it, you can even opt out through some specialized services (with more coming soon, if the FTC gets its way). And you can turn off your television (cause lord knows even the shows are trying to influence you now), and you can ignore your friends when they talk about the latest, coolest promotion that Verizon or ATT has pushed them through their cel phones. If folks insist on talking about stuff that might smack of someone selling you something, heck, you can start to dress like the Unabomber and withdraw entirely from our obviously commercial culture. You might look weird, but at least folks will leave you alone.
And if you do, your world will either be better, or it will suck more. Your call.
But don’t come crying to me when you realize that in opting out of our marketing-driven world, you’ve also opted out of, well, a pretty important part of our ongoing cultural conversation, one that, to my mind, is getting more authentic and transparent thanks to digital platforms. And, to my mind, you’ve also opted out of being a thinking person capable of filtering this stuff on your own, using that big ol’ bean which God, or whoever you believe in, gave you in the first place.
Life is a conversation, and part of it is commercial. We need to buy stuff, folks. And we need to sell stuff too.
Just saying. To the links.
FTC: Advertisers Can’t Self-Regulate, Consumers Need ‘Do Not Track’ Option (PC) The FTC wants a do not track. I’m not against it. I think the key thing here, however, is education. As in, if you opt out of commercial society, then the web is going to suck more for you than for others. Period end of sentence. More on this when, well, when I get around to it.
No One Is Happy With the FCC Chairman’s Speech, Except Broadband Investors (ATD) Sigh. It’s not easy being the FCC. See also F.C.C. Chairman Outlines Broadband Framework (NYT)
Verizon 4G Network to Launch Sunday (ATD) The promises from Verizon and partners like Google are quite extraordinary. I’ll be watching this closely for a number of reasons, including whether the “open web” thrives in this environment.
Marketers Neglecting Demand Chain Performance (MarketingProfs) Yep, and imagine how complex it gets across the Independent Web. Thank goodness for companies like FM, eh?!
Agency Proposes ‘Do Not Track’ Option for Web Users (NYT) This is one of the first official salvos in what will be an ongoing battle between industry and at least two major regulatory/policy bodies – including the FTC, the Dept. of Commerce, and industry groups like the IAB.
Why We Will All Live in ‘Curation Nation’ (AdAge) Allow me to simplify this: Signal from Noise. It’s an industry. One I’m proud to be part of.
Kleiner Perkins Set To Invest In Twitter At $4 Billion Valuation (SAI) Wow. $4bb valuation, $150mm in, and no board seat. That’s hunger. I guess KPCB trumps DST, but it had to be DST that got Twitter those terms. Twitter’s probably pleased with the deal, is my guess. We’ve got a couple monster deals that are, well, alleged at this point. If and when Groupon and Twitter close, well, that’ll be a ten billion dollar day.
What Social Signals Do Google & Bing Really Count? (SEL) A lot, and growing. Interesting overview.
Men Are From Android, Women Are From iOS (ATD) I’ve got this rant in me about this topic. I hope it comes out some day. Today, though, was about opting out. So I used an Apple campaign to illustrate it, just to keep some kind of symmetry…
—
FM’s campaign of the day is Starbucks Holiday 12 Days of Sharing. So pleased to be working with Starbucks, who wants to lure you into the store!
If it suits your information consumption goals, sign up for Signal’s email newsletter on the FM home page (upper right box). You’ll get an exclusive, email only weekly roundup of Signal.
