Data Rights Are Becoming a Larger Part of the Social Media Marketing Landscape

Any company interested in the possibility of social media marketing (and they should be) also needs to be aware of all the offshoots that go along with this latest innovation in marketing. It’s always a good idea to stay on top of all the happening trends and how the big players like Facebook and Twitter are changing the landscape with new developments, but it’s also necessary to keep an eye on any emerging privacy issues that crop up to prevent any damage to your brand.  Get caught in the middle of one of the privacy scandals that crop up now and again and your product could wind up looking complicit and guilty by association.

Keep in mind that as more and more data gets stored in the Cloud these are issues that will be front and center. There are a few developments that need to be looked at so interested marketers stay on top of all the current developments, if only to make sure they know which way the prevailing winds are blowing. 

Consider this:

• Senators John Kerry and John McCain introduced a commercial bill of rights that would allow the FTC to have a hand in how the information that is the lifeblood of the Web and e-business is gathered. Some say they sense a socialist breeze trying to gain headway here.
• More recently, a New York Times article sides with the consumer and by proxy business saying that the bill doesn’t give consumers enough control. The writer, Richard Thaler, points to a British solution called ‘mydata’ whereby business needs to supply consumers with a version of any data collected electronically on them.

 What do you think?  Does the relationship between business and consumers in the world of social media and advertising need government interference?