Clients have sometimes seem quite shocked when I explain what data can legally be stored on their customers – I’m thinking particularly in email marketing where based on what link or image you click a profile can be built up. If someone clicks a picture of a 4×4 instead of a convertible then you know that’s of interest and adjust their profile – next time the email can be focused on 4×4, or put that content at the top.
Also, a well known bookmakers scores their customers based on factors like when they click a link in an email, if it’s far down the page it means they have engaged more with the brand and the content. They give them points for various factors that are invisible to the customer, but help the brand to know who to reward and with what incentive.
Whenever a customer has raised their eyebrows at how far data gathering knowledge has come on I assure them that a privacy policy covers all this, and it’s never linked with an individual anyway. So, finding out today that data protection officials in Germany are attempting a ban of Google Analytics I was quite shocked.
Taking a few minutes out to consider this it did make me think that all is well and good until so much data capture becomes the norm and then it suddenly gets into the hands of someone who wants to misuse it. All of the profile information captured by Google Analytics is indeed anonymous, but if it were linked back to an iGoogle account you suddenly know a heck of a lot about an individual. What have they been buying with Google Checkout, what sites have they been visiting and when, what locations are they interested in with Google Maps, etc, etc.
Google itself is becoming increasingly powerful with its colossal cash reserves and huge server farms of data, so ensuring that it is all used in the best interest of the consumer could become more difficult as time goes on. For the meanwhile, enjoy getting very advanced visitor profiling information for free.
