Four forces are shaping the new privacy norms. Technology’s ascendance, omnipresent celebrities, the end of embarrassment,and the role of social networking in civic life are all pushing us into a brave new world of sharing.Presumably, having become a celebrity simply by twittering - perhaps the aim of one of my more frenetic colleagues - one can be more connected with civil society.
Technology’s ascendance:
Asked for their spontaneous associations with the word ‘privacy’ in our groups, the first words that came to mind for our respondents were all related to technology. Technology has a created a more fluid and borderless world. As one younger person from the US said, “You put your info in a little lake, and then it goes into a river and then it goes into the ocean.” Unlike the real world it’s harder and harder to see where the ‘edges’ are which makes it harder to give consumers a sense of control over their own data.
Omnipresent celebrities:
Celebrities have raised the bar for what is and isn’t acceptable to share in public. The name Kim Kardashian seems more likely associated with a focus group about fragrances or luxury products. But in our groups, the name was associated with changing privacy norms. Celebrities like the Kardashians have capitalized on Twitter and other social media trends, sharing their lives more than ever before with their fans. Now anyone can become a celebrity if they just tweet enough!
The end of embarrassment:
With so much being shared, it’s much harder to actually be embarrassed about something these days. Many in our groups wondered why politicians or stars caught making risqué tweets or texts were often trying to cover their actions. As one person noted. “Everything is hanging out… so why should I be embarrassed about, you know,anything?” How many of us have overheard (or had) a private conversation in public on a cell phone?
The role of social networking in civic life:
The most overwhelmingly positive aspect of this networked world is the increased sense of connection associated with online sharing. Social networks have become the new place to gossip, to have a rant, and to get important news about your friends, family and community. While for some a shift towards a digital village may be alienating, for many others it’s brought them closer to friends and family who live far away.For many, including older consumers, it has brought a renewed sense of connection with civic life.
The report goes on to claim that -
All of these factors ensure that there is less and less of a clear separation between public and private. More and more we seem to be asking ourselves: What is appropriate to share and what should we hold close? Further, what is it appropriate to search about others? Our research suggests that searching and snooping is becoming more commonplace. Lately it’s actually become quite normal for us to find out excessive amounts of information about a casual acquaintance or someone we hardly know, simply because that information is out there. While only 1 in 10 admit to the old-fashioned snooping of reading someone’s diary, many more have used technology to learn about the lives of others. 40% of people say they’ve looked at the online photographs of people they hardly know. As a young respondent from Australia commented,“I’ve stalked people on Facebook, everyone does.” In a world where more and more people are searching for information about us online, we need to devote more time to managing our online brand (or multiple online brands). People describe needing to separate the ‘virtuous me’ that is suitable for family and employers (no drunken party pics) from the ‘popular me’ which we must project to friends and social acquaintances that we seek to impress. Some even resort to anonymity to protect their identity from unwelcome snooping. As online identity and privacy becomes a more complex business and at the same time more brands seek to interact with their customers online, it begs an important question: Which version of your customer are you interacting with today?Given that surveillance is 'natural' and 'inevitable' marketers apparently should be unabashed. McCann offers 'the privacy equation' -
Implicit in the varying importance of different types of data is a marketplace where data is a valuable good, to be traded and monetized. We think of this as the privacy equation.That supposedly means -
A big part of the privacy equation is having active tools to maintain control of your side of the equation, your personal privacy online. Globally we see that people are becoming accustomed to taking protective measures. 73% have taken the basic step of securing anti-virus software for their computer. Nearly half (47%) are being selective about who they add to online social networks, only ‘friending’ their real life friends and acquaintances. There seems to be a debate among generations about who is better at managing their privacy. The older group believes that the brave new world of sharing may someday catch young people off guard.
But young people are taking more active measures to protect themselves: 84% of those under 30 with a social networking profile have changed privacy settings, while only 58% of those over 40 have done so. One trend we noticed is that the older generations are looking to one another – to their community – to manage their technology. They rely on anecdotes and warnings from friends and family to help them secure themselves in the face of new and varied threats. Young people, on the other hand, tend to use technology to manage their friends and community.
For all types of company and brands, there are four key dynamics to privacy when it comes to maintaining a proactive,productive and share-worthy relationship with consumers: Control, choice, commitment and compensation are the key to assurance and trust.All in all a fatuous and on occasion disingenuous report with little original data and no substantive original insights.
People want a commitment from companies that they won’t pass personal data [ie their telephone number or email address] on to third parties. 55% (56% US) of people select this as one of their top 3 most important criteria when deciding to trust a brand. They also want a choice about how their data will be used. 51% (57% US) say it is important to know exactly how their data is going to be used.
When it comes to control, people want to be in command of which pieces of data they share. 49%(55% US) think it is very important to have this control, reflecting their sensitivity level for different types of data. Consumers also want compensation. They want a reason to share data, an understanding of how they will benefit. 31% (30% in US) say this is a top criterion for sharing data
