A lyrical rendition of the creepy side of data - a consumer's perspective

At what point is the line crossed? How many consumer insights are too much? Are we as consumers solely becoming a source of data for machine intelligence to crunch and turn into insights?

Every breath you take – The Police (1983)

“Every breath you take. Every move you make.
Every bond you break. Every step you take. I’ll
be watching you. Every single day. Every
word you say. Every game you play.
Every night you stay. I’ll be watching you.”

Out of context, these lyrics are pretty creepy. In fact, they all are as you’ll see further below. But isn’t that the premise of what the likes of Google and ubiquitous computing are up to? Following our every step? Our (smart) mobile devices are transmitters of data: a whole host of information that you may and may not know about, all completely connected and constantly available to transmit our every move and interaction.

Hello – Lionel Richie (1984)

"Hello! I've just got to let you know 'cause I
wonder where you are. And I wonder what
you do. Are you somewhere feeling lonely? Or
is someone loving you? Tell me how to win
your heart. For I haven't got a clue"

Having shown a friend her Google Maps Timeline recently (which she wasn’t aware existed) her comment wasn’t surprising at all, “Wow, that’s creepy!” She wasn’t aware that Google has a record of her every move, how she gets to where she goes, tracking her every step through her Android device.

A couple of features that I have noticed when I travelled abroad last year was that Google read my email about where I was going. I travelled from South Africa to Croatia via Germany. Google knew when I was travelling, which airline I was travelling with, which gate I should take. It advised me to leave from work at a particular time due to traffic en route to the airport and directed me to the route I should take. When I landed in Germany for my layover, it informed me of the exchange rate, and had some common questions in English translated into German for me. It did this the whole return trip too. Some may read this and think how convenient, others will think that it is an invasion of privacy.

It’s been obvious for years now that Google has been able to track our online behaviour, including which pages we visit, how much time we spend on each site, how frequently we visit them on a desktop computer. Now with our mobile devices, the digital companion in our pocket, we can be tracked continuously.

You belong to me – Carly Simon (1978)

“You belong to me, can it be, honey, that
you’re not sure. You belong to me, Thought
we’d closed the book – locked the door”

Brands and campaigns in particular, are designed in such a way that they are able to most effectively gather information on consumers and the people who engage with them. Typical questions often asked in these campaigns are:

• What type of data do I want to gather from my consumers?
  
• What insights will the data give me, and how can I use these later?
  
• What type of data do I need to collect in order to accomplish my brand’s other marketing efforts and/or goals?
  
• Where does the data sit?

By virtue of engaging with brands in an online environment, consumers are sharing a wealth of information with these brands to gather and create user profiles. Using a host of different platforms, brands can verify information which we are all too happy to share.

• Demographics - Age, gender, ethnicity, race

  • Common questions we have to answer

  • Confirmed by the use of facial recognition with the pictures we choose to upload

• Geography - Where we live, where we work, places, restaurants we visit
  • This can be confirmed by the check-ins, places you go, Google Maps Timeline

• Psychographics - Personality, values, opinions, attitudes, interests, and lifestyles

  • This can be verified by our status / opinion on particular subjects. For example, the likelihood of us changing our profile picture to reflect a French flag overlay
    
  • Links to articles we like or share

  • Recommendations for things we like: books, movies, restaurants, etc.

I’ll get you – The Beatles (1963)

“It's not like me to pretend. But I'll get you,

I'll get you in the end. Yes I will, I'll get

you in the end. Oh yeah, oh yeah”

As consumers our requirements, compulsions and cravings to be ever-connected are growing. The need for information at our fingertips is relentless. There are more connected devices now than ever before. With the growing trend of the IoT (Internet of Things) and smart objects that are interconnected it will likely become impossible to stay “off the grid”. The types of data not readily available now, will be easy to access in the future, with the possibility of measuring and crunching these data points into insights that have never before been imagined.

The best is yet to come – Frank Sinatra (1956)

“Out of the tree of life I just picked me a
plum. You came along and everything's
startin' to hum. Still, it's a real good bet, the
best is yet to come”

Whether or not you agree, the future of data and consumer insights is going to be a very exciting one. The avenues that will be opened and opportunities that will be created are huge. Whether we are the source or the beneficiary of the data it still looks very exciting.

Disclaimer: These thoughts are my own and are not necessarily those of the company I represent.

Further reading: Deal or no deal - It's pretty simple.