My Own Private Internet

Posted by JR on August 13 at 4:08 PM Are you scared yet? Well you shouldn't be. This sort of "metric tracking" - monitoring web site visitor activity for trends and insight - is standard on the web today.

But it turns out some people might not be so happy about this. In the world of online advertising, the Internet is coming under congressional fire. Why? Because people aren't comfortable with the fact that their "private" actions are being sold to people they don't know.


The history (and death) of privacy
We all value our privacy. From the days of hiding our journals (the ones with the tiny padlocks you could snap with a toothpick) in our underwear drawers to the present day, there are certain bits of information about ourselves that we don't want others to know.

However, the news shows us that privacy might very well be a luxury of the past. Bosses are firing employees because they found that Facebook photo of Joshua doing a keg stand in a bikini. Identity thieves are stealing our credit cards and going on all-day purchase binges. And, of course, everyone blames the Internet.

Unfortunately for the Internet, these people are pointing their fingers in the right direction. The Web, as we know it, has essentially ruined the concept of privacy. And it's a misleading beast, this World Wide Web. We usually access the internet alone - just us and the computer, or our iPhone, or a kiosk at an Internet cafe. But, depsite the fact that we are effectively "alone", whatever we fire off into that digital ether is far from private.


Nothing is sacred
Sure, we all know that a blog post, a photo, a YouTube video is essentially public domain, anyone and everyone will have access to it. But the Web is very observant. Every action we take, whether purposely left in a public forum or not, is trackable.

For example, DMDInsight.com is hooked up to Google Analytics. Using the program, we can see how many people go to our web sites, what they do, how long they do it, how they got here, and where they click off to from there. Likewise, our eNewsletters tell us who opened the mail, who deleted it, who spammed it, and who clicked on what links.

As a metrics analyst, I was shocked when I had the following conversation with my mother:

Justin: Mom, DMDInsight is doing so well, all this incoming traffic. People seem to really enjoy the blog.

Mama: How do you know that, are they telling you?

Justin: No, we track people, so we know everything they do.

Mama: Is that legal? I don't want you or Rowland getting in trouble.

Justin: Yes! It's very legal! All web sites track their visitors and behaviors.

Mama: Even FoodNetwork.com?

Justin: How do you think they justify the cost of banner space to their advertisers?

Mama: That's it, I'm never using the Internet again.

Until this conversation, I just erroneously assumed that everyone knew they were being tracked. Turns out that's not the case. Friends my age (and younger) also seem shocked when I tell them that everything they do is being monitored. Granted, not in a Big Brother (the literary reference, not the reality show) sort of way, but some machine, somewhere, is compiling numbers and graphs. Also, it's been a very annoying adjustment to only communicate with my mother via letters and carrier pigeons (sign back on, Ma!)


Why no privacy?
As was evidenced with the Facebook Beacon debacle, Internet companies are clawing each other's eyes out to try and monetize their web sites and attract advertisers. Each site needs to prove that its advertising is effective, with a sweet ROI, in order to get those ad dollars in their coffers.

The first sacrificial lamb to the altar is always the user's privacy. But what can the Internet do? After all these years of bragging that it is the only medium that can serve you a Pizza Hut ad on NYTimes.com because some chip somewhere noticed you wrote an email with the words "stuffed crust" in it, the Internet NEEDS to push the personalization story.

And, with technology blasting forward on a daily basis, the amount of information that can be gathered about our Web behaviors is astounding.


Every thorn has its rose
But this loss of privacy isn't necessarily a bad thing. Because we businesses are trying to get a handle on what you (the user) is trying to do, what you actually end up doing, and then brainstorming how we can better help you acheive your goal quicker and easier.

I understand why people were up in arms about Beacon, but I don't really care if my friends find out that Netflix is sending me Bad Education and Volver (in fact, it makes me look cultured!). And so what if people know I bought two tickets to see Dark Knight on IMAX?


Summing it up
In the end, I'm curious to see what the congressional hearings will accomplish (do Congressional hearings accomplish anything, besides endlessly generating material for Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert?) And what will happen to the web if suddenly private information is no longer available?

My guess is that you may find yourself smacking into a lot more pop ups on your favorite web sites. "Our privacy policy has changed! Please click this link."

You will then click that link, go to a page with lots of boring legalese, and then click the "approve" button so you can continue downloading the new Jonas Brothers CD, giving the site full control over your information again, and restoring the norm.

I'm interested to hear what others think of the web privacy issue, and I encourage you to leave a comment. And don't just sit there like a silent observer.

Remember, I know you're reading this right now.
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