Media Ads verse Social​ Media Ads

Being digitally literate may seem like a full-time hobby. No one inside the industry or outside the industry can truly describe how our name was selected for a particular add. Facebook CEO gave a brief and ambiguous answer to Congress in 2019. Is there any hope of our government working for ‘we the people?’

Traditional media advertising relays on the subject content that the individual is viewing. So if you are watching a children’s cartoon, there is a high probability the ad will be targeted towards children or moms. But that is not the same in the social media space. Today if you are watching a children’s cartoon on a streaming service, the ads that are presented to you, are targeted to you specifically. Their algorithm will incorporate your personal demographics and past behavior to decide which ads are for you.

Data Protection – 2020

I just had to take an exam for my current job, proving that I understand the new California Consumer Privacy Act. The new law requires CA companies to allow their customers to request what individual data is used, the ability to opt-out of data usage, and the ability to request that your personal information is deleted from their system.

This leaves me wondering; how does one know which companies are using their personal data? As some of you know, I was a victim of identity theft. A cashier at a Sprint Mobile store had the ability to use minimal information to apply for credit in my name. I was not, nor have I ever been a customer of Sprint. How would I know to request that Sprint deletes (or at the very minimum opt-out) my personal data?

We as consumers never explicitly gave Experian the right to our data, but our government gave them the ok to manage our data. This data hack was one of the U.S. most significant breaches, exposing over half of U.S. consumers to identify fraud.

So, although our laws are catching up to technology, we are not all the way there or entirely protected.

PS – our government allows ALL cellular carriers the right to our credit scores, etc, for ease of switching providers. Regardless of your knowledge or permission.

Opt-in, opt-out, spam. What’​s the difference?

You can only opt out of what you opted into. Otherwise, it is spam.

Some of your emails may “feel” like “junk,” but that is just a company sending you information that has no interest to you.

However, a commercial message — one that markets a service or product to the masses or individual — is legal to send if the following are true:

  • it is sent to email address who has opted into the service
  • it includes both clear name and contact details of your business
  • and it provides a clear and free “opt out” link so that users can unsubscribe.

Any “remove from subscription” requests sent back to a business must be honored, and you will be removed from their mailing lists.

When a recipient receives unwanted emails (or text messages), according to the ‘CAN_SPAM’ laws, these are illegal.

By clicking the “spam” button; this information goes back to the Internet Service Providers (ISP), and can get the company sending the spam email in trouble.  At worst, if they receive too many spam notices, their IP address is blacklisted from that ISP making it difficult or impossible to send new messages to anyone.

To register on the DO NOT EMAIL list:

Consumers can register at the Direct Marketing Association’s (DMA) consumer website: www.DMAchoice.org for a processing fee of $2, you can remain on the list for ten years. Registering online is the fastest way to see results. DMAchoice offers consumers a simple, step-by-step process that enables them to decide what mail they do and do not want.

In addition, DMAchoice online offers registration for DMA’s eMail Preference Service (reduce your unsolicited commercial email).

DO NOT CALL REGISTRY list:

The federal government’s National Do Not Call Registry is a free, easy way to reduce the telemarketing calls you receive. To register your phone number or to get information about the registry, visit www.donotcall.gov, or call 1-888-382-1222 from the phone number you want to register. You will get fewer telemarketing calls within 31 days. Telephone numbers on the registry will only be removed when they are disconnected and reassigned, or when you choose to remove a number from the registry.

 

 

Data and dating. Specifically “online dating.”​​​

The latest in helping singles find their future mate – a height validation badge. Tinder will now validate a user’s height ensuring (a little) honesty in the online dating community.

Only 15% of the population is taller than six feet, although Tinder has found that over 80% of their male users claim to be six feet or taller.

The technology to validate the height of anything is actually simple. You stand next to a well-known structure, like a commercial building or a famous sculpture, and snap a pic. My guess is the same technology could be applied to a vehicle (although not yet offered by Tinder). An algorithm, using spatial software, analyzes your height against the details of the construction. This software is not new technology; house design apps help clients determine if a couch will fit in their living room. Clothing apps help determine the best size and shape of an article of clothing based on photos of the individual.

The difference now, dating apps (Tinder) are validating all sorts of data, while collecting new data. If you ever used Tinder, you know that it partners with Facebook (to ensure you are a real person and for the photos), Instagram (for photos), and Spotify (for your music taste). Collecting “validated data” and meshing it with other personal data that is owned by the same parent company. PS the parent company of Tinder manages more than a half dozen other dating apps, each collects personal data, each with different user validation techniques.

Now if they would validate that the pictures are recent, that would be a definite win!

Do you have a digital alibi?

Have you ever stop to think – if you needed an alibi would you have one? With all the digital data collected today how likely is it that your digital data will provide your alibi?

Think about all your activities during the day, hmmm.

  • Your home security alarm
  • A Ring/doorbell system (or other outdoor motion sensor cameras)
  • Your vehicle’s GPS navigational system
  • Cellular GPS
  • Connected game console
  • Activity on your Echo or Google Home
  • Appliances connected to the internet (IoT)
  • Check-in at the gym
  • Credit card receipt

On average you are caught on cameras uptown 20 times a day.

Comment below with your digital alibi(s).

 

Top Ten Data Thoughts


  1. your digital foot print is every where
  2. if it’s free you are the product 
  3. be aware of how are data is used, collected, stored and shared
  4. data is not free and loyalty is not cheap
  5. include your digital assets in your estate planning
  6. backup – only important when you need it
  7. everything has history see #1
  8. change your passwords – think of it as a key to your house
  9. identity thief is almost anticipated, have a monitoring plan
  10. set up alerts for changes and/or activity on important data and accounts.

Did you take the 10 year photo challenge?

Many individuals took the 10 year challenge on social media. A game where you posted two pictures of yourself, one from today and one from ten years ago.

Well, the challenge may have been fun to share with friends and family, but what was going on behind the scene?

Many people in the industry suspected this was an easy way for technology companies to test and add data to their facial recognition algorithms.

When it comes to machine learning – the more data the more accurate the outcome. This challenge gave the backend systems data to predict what someones appearance will be like in the future. The algorithms will intercept the data and utilize it to understand how humans age.

Protecting your privacy on your Smartphone.

  • Voice assist – when using voice assist (like Siri and Google Assist), they are listening for you to say the command word(s). “Hey Siri.” And sometimes it will pick up a conversation that is not necessarily triggered by the command due to hearing similar words.

We give a lot of trust and responsibility to these companies to be transparent in what they capture and collect.

You can turn off voice assist through your settings on your phone.

NOTE: Google Privacy Checkup shows you what it has recorded in the past, your web activity and your location. This service is available for any device, using Google or Youtube.

https://myaccount.google.com/intro/privacycheckup

  • Location services is another application that you can manage within your device settings. Turn off this feature for all apps that do not need location services to operate. Such as music apps, calculators. etc.
  • Use a password, on all your devices!

My 2019 Predictions

Here are my predictions (three months into the year)…

Thanks to everyone that encouraged me to continue with the blog. I still have a lot to explain, learn and discuss. 

  1. New communication channels are on the way. We have text, direct message, alerts… with new digital applications, new channels are on the way.
  2. Block chain will find its application for personal use. Side business will continue to emerge and block chain may be a easy and legal binding way to keep individuals accountable. 
  3. Grocery shopping – Digital Grocery Vending Machines. Soon we will see inventory is delivered in a shipping container – that is swapped out at critical thresholds. Just think – robot arms grabbing the items for shelves that appear to be staked without logical order. If you know for every two milks, you sell one dozen eggs. The shelves get stacked for optimized inventory storage. 
  4. Grocery shopping – VR. Soon you will be able to pick the fruit from your living room.  Through VR (and Robot arms) you will be able to pick an individual apple from a shelf. 
  5. Grocery store formats. New formats will be focused around customer types and not neighborhood. 
  6. Banking – brick and mortar facilities. Will execute as a customer service facility. A place where a small percent still does their banking with a real-live teller and where others address errors in their banking transactions. Smaller and change in their op ed. 
  7. Government actions will define standards of expectation and validations for breaches in consumer privacy, data use and ownership, and general policies.