opt-out

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Opt-In Vs. Opt-Out.

May 13, 2010 in Privacy | 0 Comments

It was fascinating to learn that Facebook’s privacy policy is 1,000 words longer then the U.S. Constitution. It seems nation-building back in the day was easier than signing up for a social network today. The average novel is 80,000 words; the Facebook privacy policy is close to 6,000 words. They want us to read a bit less than 10% of a book to sign up. 

I’m guessing only about 1% of the population has ever read a Terms and Conditions or privacy policy document and that percent probably passed the bar. (I was once responsible for Ts and Cs at a company and it was truly an exercise in plagiarism, with a lateral to a lawyer.)

Privacy policy needs to be opt-in, not opt-out.  That is, users must click with whom and what they want shared. A manual Opt-In selection.  This makes it so everything starts out as private and users and info to be shared must be selected. Right now everything is pre-set for share and you must deselect. Opt-Out. The Op-In approach will likely make advertising and data sale more effective and targeted. Of course, there will have to be incentives built in, but that’s the way it goes.

As I said in a post a couple of days ago, the decisions Facebook makes today on privacy will determine if they become the world’s first trillion dollar company. No pressure there. Hee hee. Peace!

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Opting Out on Paper

March 13, 2008 in Marketing | 0 Comments

I’m in Austin at SXSW Music. It’s part Mardi Gras, part Woodstock, part college cut day. All fun. Musicians from all over the world have come to be discovered and signed…and drink a little Shiner Boch. REM played at a barbecue place last night.  

 

The city is filled with taste-makers. Every kid with guitar or pair of drum sticks is betting his or her career on the art they’re performing down here.  Lot’s of edgy people. One trend I picked up on is fan dissatisfaction with paper. In the convention center, not too far from where the welcome bags are given out, is an alcove filled with printed paper.  When I say filled I really mean strewn. It looks quite cool but is definitely a protest.

 

My SXSW welcome bag must have weighted 8 pounds: It had 3 newspapers, 7 magazines, and countless flyers and cards. Kids and smart adults today don’t want to see paper wasted. They want to opt in to paper, not opt-out. 

 

Functional anthropologists might attribute this opt-out statement to people not wanting to schlep the weight around, but the pile’s prominent display says protest and speaks to the preference for all things digital. (Hey, anyone have a Blackberry?)   

 

Oh yeah, and there were also many CDs in the welcome bag. In a couple of years, they, too, will make the pile.  

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