For many companies, especially small, privately owned companies, advertising and marketing can be the hardest part of running a business. It is difficult for companies who don’t have the money, especially when they are just getting started, to afford big-time advertising. Therefore many times they resort to advertising in local newspapers and magazines. While it may be initially inexpensive, it can be ineffective, and there is no guarantee they will reach the client base that they are trying to market and sell to. That is why geolocation services, such as Foursquare, are revolutionizing the way small businesses advertise and market. Geolocation is an application available for smart phones. It allows participating businesses to target people that are in the location of their stores or restaurants and send them promotional offers; for example, samples, freebies, or good deals. “Location based services help businesses present coupons, reward loyal clientele and gather valuable data about customers” (Pattison). It also helps to create foot traffic for businesses that rely on it, such as restaurants, retailers, etc.
It is truly amazing how much easier it is for companies to reach out to customers today. Instead of groping for customers in a local newspaper or magazine, which is likely to be skimmed over and thrown out, businesses are able to market real-time to anyone with a smart phone in their pocket, with is an ever-growing population that includes virtually everyone under the age of 30. Beyond what Foursquare is now providing businesses, other services are evolving that allow businesses to specify their clientele based on people’s interests. The internet has given businesses an easy and relatively inexpensive way to learn about their customers. For instance, Youtube has created a “recommended for you” section that monitors the previous videos you have watched and presents you with new ones that you may be interested in based upon that. Another example is Facebook. When you advertise on Facebook you have the option of selecting the customers you want to show your ads to by their location, age and interests. You can also pay only when people click or see your ad. Google also tracks a tremendous amount of information about peoples browsing habits, including sites they visit and searches they make for products. "Google is pushing into uncharted privacy territory for the company. Until recently, it refrained from aggressively cashing in on its own data about Internet users, fearing a backlash. But the rapid emergence of scrappy rivals who track people's online activities and sell that data, along with Facebook Inc.'s growth, is forcing a shift"(Vascellaro). Using this data, advertisers are able to target customers based upon the customers browsing behavior and attract customers that are already interested in their product. Theoretically this is all great for business because it puts people in touch with businesses and advertising that they are actually interested in. This helps cut through the clutter that is associated with other types of media, such as newspapers, television, and magazines where a business is fighting with every other business to get their message across. This approach gets lost in an information overload where people get too much data about too many things and either become bored or aggravated and just stop paying attention altogether. The targeted marketing that the web has enabled avoids these problems and this can be mutually beneficial for the customer and the business. It allows these two to find each other and can help promote customer loyalty once the connection is made. So it all sounds great, right?
The issue with many of these new advertising technologies is how far they are infringing on personal privacy to promote commerce. The internet companies are able to track tons of information about you and the question is how comfortable are we with having that information circulating on the web and known not only to people that gather the information but also to people who want to use it. For example, take a second to look at the website Spokeo.com. This website shows everything from your phone number to a satellite picture of your house, your income, your education, how many people are in your family, your hobbies, your house price, and a host of other creepy details that you may not want any random person – or business - to be able to see. To get a little creepier, with GPS now connected to many phones, people’s location can be potentially tracked to within a few meters. You can even link your GPS to allow it to track your friends and find out where they are. One person may use that information to simply find their friend at a local coffee shop while another person might use that same information to stalk their ex. Who is to say where this information could potential go or what purpose it might be used for? For example, can the government subpoena the information these companies have gathered about you and use it against you? Will companies have to surrender this information when they are asked for it? This should give anyone second thoughts about how much personal information they make available on the internet.
The truth with any technology is that as amazing as it may sound and be, we are likely to get the bad along with the good. At the end of the day, we may be able to easily find a good restaurant or that pair of boots we were looking for, but the real question will be whether we found them or they found us.
Pattison, Kermit. "Geolocation Services: Find a Smartphone, Find a Customer." New York Times (2010): n. pag. Web. 12 Oct 2010. .
Vascellaro, Jessica. "Google Agonizes on Privacy as Ad World Vaults Ahead." Wall Street Journal (2010): n. pag. Web. 12 Oct 2010. .
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