FTC leaning towards Behavioral Tracking Opt-Out.
The Federal Trade Commission is considering implementing a way to allow users to opt out of behavioral tracking across the Web. In my opinion, very premature and not needed.
As a marketer, I'm the first to say that marketers can often get out of control when something shows signs of working. Quite frankly, we go too far and often don't police ourselves properly. However, additional government-level control is not needed.
The Do-Not-Call list has ultimately decimated an industry of consumer phone solicitation. CAN SPAM - while arguably necessary - appeared to be likely the result of just a few "bad apples". Going down the list of government-monitored marketing initiatives, it's only a matter of time before marketing is a career of the past.
The Internet is still in its infancy - and behavioral tracking is quite new and not implemented by most firms. As a marketer, I can easily argue that tracking activity leads to more thoughtful and targeted future marketing to individuals - rather than just blasting them with offers they have no interest in.
What I personally find ironic is that political spending on advertising is way up when elections roll around. But couldn't one make the argument that Democrats don't want to see Republican ads - continually in their face? Obviously, the reverse would be true for Republicans. So why type of advertising any less intrusive, offensive, or any better? At least behavioral tracking will ensure that Republicans only see Republican-focused ads.
As a marketer, I'm the first to say that marketers can often get out of control when something shows signs of working. Quite frankly, we go too far and often don't police ourselves properly. However, additional government-level control is not needed.
The Do-Not-Call list has ultimately decimated an industry of consumer phone solicitation. CAN SPAM - while arguably necessary - appeared to be likely the result of just a few "bad apples". Going down the list of government-monitored marketing initiatives, it's only a matter of time before marketing is a career of the past.
The Internet is still in its infancy - and behavioral tracking is quite new and not implemented by most firms. As a marketer, I can easily argue that tracking activity leads to more thoughtful and targeted future marketing to individuals - rather than just blasting them with offers they have no interest in.
What I personally find ironic is that political spending on advertising is way up when elections roll around. But couldn't one make the argument that Democrats don't want to see Republican ads - continually in their face? Obviously, the reverse would be true for Republicans. So why type of advertising any less intrusive, offensive, or any better? At least behavioral tracking will ensure that Republicans only see Republican-focused ads.
Social Media and Interactive Education.
As a person who's been active in education, as an adjunct professor for a few NYC universities over the past 10 years, my experience has been that students are embracing interactive marketing and social media education beyond traditional marketing.
Ultimately, the students benefit from the real-world exposure that's timely for their current and future careers. Given that social media tends to be mastered by many youths, social media often fits into their job descriptions at internships before leaving college.
This is not to say the fundamentals of traditional media and marketing should not be learned as it helps build the foundation for why interactive marketing and social media work so well. After all, it's a different media or method but the basic principles of marketing are still the same.
My findings have been that students tend to embrace this type of learning because it captures their attention for immediate use. Not unlike learning a trade, on the job training, or continuing education which is very popular among adult learners and master's degree programs.
Ultimately, if the student is engaged in the topic, they'll do well from both an academic and practitioner perspective. So the more we teach about Internet Marketing and Social Media in the classrooms, we're helping along the workforce and future employers of these students. Truly a win-win.
Ultimately, the students benefit from the real-world exposure that's timely for their current and future careers. Given that social media tends to be mastered by many youths, social media often fits into their job descriptions at internships before leaving college.
This is not to say the fundamentals of traditional media and marketing should not be learned as it helps build the foundation for why interactive marketing and social media work so well. After all, it's a different media or method but the basic principles of marketing are still the same.
My findings have been that students tend to embrace this type of learning because it captures their attention for immediate use. Not unlike learning a trade, on the job training, or continuing education which is very popular among adult learners and master's degree programs.
Ultimately, if the student is engaged in the topic, they'll do well from both an academic and practitioner perspective. So the more we teach about Internet Marketing and Social Media in the classrooms, we're helping along the workforce and future employers of these students. Truly a win-win.
The Facebook Future
So I'll add to the constant mix of people that have an idea on Facebook - more specifically, what can ruin them, further expand them, etc.
I'll start by giving some much-earned respect to Facebook as it's undoubtedly lead a culture-changing phenomenon on a worldwide basis. Not since we started "Googling", has something so big and wide-spread happened. Kudos to them.
As a follower of the Facebook model and happenings, many talk of the various initiatives that may indeed do Facebook in. They include open-source social networking, Google finally doing social networking right, gaming, local-social networking like FourSquare and many others.
If I go back 12 years in my time machine, I personally remember people talking about the potential demise of Amazon. Obviously, it didn't happen and they emerged as one of the greatest e-tailers of all time.
Then if I go back around 7 years, people were looking for the Google-killer. It didn't happen - so perhaps I'm just making an argument that it's tough to be King and at the top of your game. Someone's always looking to de-throne you.
When I look at Facebook, I see a 500 million-strong machine that's absolutely ready for sale. To whom, I have no idea - but I think that the founder has done what he's set-out to do. Quite simply, make big change and perhaps pocket a few billion bucks in the process.
Why now? I see it at the Apex - it's probably as far as it's going to go. Not to mention, there's just too many new and fun ideas out there to jump on. Not to mention all those looking forward to your demise. Like a great actor, jump out while you're at the top. Get top money, come back and live to fight another day.
After all, what's wrong with being a billionaire in your mid-twenties and continuing your quest in changing the world - just in a different way?
I'll start by giving some much-earned respect to Facebook as it's undoubtedly lead a culture-changing phenomenon on a worldwide basis. Not since we started "Googling", has something so big and wide-spread happened. Kudos to them.
As a follower of the Facebook model and happenings, many talk of the various initiatives that may indeed do Facebook in. They include open-source social networking, Google finally doing social networking right, gaming, local-social networking like FourSquare and many others.
If I go back 12 years in my time machine, I personally remember people talking about the potential demise of Amazon. Obviously, it didn't happen and they emerged as one of the greatest e-tailers of all time.
Then if I go back around 7 years, people were looking for the Google-killer. It didn't happen - so perhaps I'm just making an argument that it's tough to be King and at the top of your game. Someone's always looking to de-throne you.
When I look at Facebook, I see a 500 million-strong machine that's absolutely ready for sale. To whom, I have no idea - but I think that the founder has done what he's set-out to do. Quite simply, make big change and perhaps pocket a few billion bucks in the process.
Why now? I see it at the Apex - it's probably as far as it's going to go. Not to mention, there's just too many new and fun ideas out there to jump on. Not to mention all those looking forward to your demise. Like a great actor, jump out while you're at the top. Get top money, come back and live to fight another day.
After all, what's wrong with being a billionaire in your mid-twenties and continuing your quest in changing the world - just in a different way?
Go mobile with your site?
It's hard to deny mobile represents a large part of the Internet future. PDA's are getting smaller and smaller - and into the hands of more and more people. Folks are browing the web on these mobile devices and relying on them more and relying less on their laptops and other home computers.
As a business owner, you may be wondering if it's time to make your website mobile-optimized. Not a bad idea - and a small and somewhat inexpensive step in jumping onto the mobile bandwagon.
Getting a developer to optimize your site for mobile may cost you just a few hundred to a few thousand dollars depending on the depth and complexity of your site. However, like all expenses, it can be justified by measuring the additional business (or traffic) you might receive by having a mobile-optimized site in the first place.
If you're missing out on opportunities, it's a no-brainer. If your target market is a consumer-oriented, younger-demographic, it's also a no-brainer because they are on their mobile-devices much more than their home computers in general. The case for having a mobile-optimized site gets greater as you crunch the numbers.
Eventually, you'll want to start thinking of having an app (or more) on your site to further engage your target audience. Right now, however, the app pool is becoming crowded and many sites are developing apps just for the sake of doing it. Kind of like what folks did with Blogs a couple years back. But if you can cost-effectively develop an app that can live on your site that adds value to your visitors then you have another expense that can be easily justified.
As a business owner, you may be wondering if it's time to make your website mobile-optimized. Not a bad idea - and a small and somewhat inexpensive step in jumping onto the mobile bandwagon.
Getting a developer to optimize your site for mobile may cost you just a few hundred to a few thousand dollars depending on the depth and complexity of your site. However, like all expenses, it can be justified by measuring the additional business (or traffic) you might receive by having a mobile-optimized site in the first place.
If you're missing out on opportunities, it's a no-brainer. If your target market is a consumer-oriented, younger-demographic, it's also a no-brainer because they are on their mobile-devices much more than their home computers in general. The case for having a mobile-optimized site gets greater as you crunch the numbers.
Eventually, you'll want to start thinking of having an app (or more) on your site to further engage your target audience. Right now, however, the app pool is becoming crowded and many sites are developing apps just for the sake of doing it. Kind of like what folks did with Blogs a couple years back. But if you can cost-effectively develop an app that can live on your site that adds value to your visitors then you have another expense that can be easily justified.