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Young Adults Say Web Sites Should Be Required To Delete User Data

by Wendy Davis, Yesterday, 6:07 PM

Debunking the oft-repeated assertion that young people don't care about privacy, new research shows that Web users between the ages of 18 and 24 are highly protective of certain information about themselves.  

"With important exceptions, large percentages of young adults are in harmony with older Americans when it comes to sensitivity about online privacy and policy suggestions," states the study, authored by professors at UC Berkeley and the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School.

The study was submitted this week to the Federal Trade Commission, which recently concluded a series of three privacy roundtables. The report, which cost $55,000 to commission, was based on a telephone survey of 1,000 Americans.

One of the most significant findings is that 82% of people ages 18-24 say they have refused to disclose information seen as too personal or unnecessary to businesses. Overall, 88% of people of all age groups surveyed said the same.

In addition, 88% of respondents between the ages of 18 and 24 say that Web sites and ad companies should be required by law to delete all stored information about individuals. That figure compares to 92% of respondents of all ages who said the same.

What's more, 62% of 18- to-24-year-old respondents say they believe the law should give people the right to learn what information Web sites have about them.

While the findings appear to contradict popular wisdom about young people's attitudes, Berkeley Law School's Chris Hoofnagle says the results are consistent with previous research by social media experts like Danah Boyd. "People who have done qualitative research have said for many years now that young people care very much about their social networking privacy. That's evidenced by the fact that they spend so much time grooming their profile," says Hoofnagle, who was one of the study's authors.

He adds that one reason why young people are perceived as indifferent to privacy is because some say they're not concerned about the use of their data by institutions. "Young people's focus is more about who, among their peers, will access their data," he says, adding that it often isn't until people get older and apply for jobs, or products like health insurance, that they realize how corporations or other entities might use personal data.

Hoofnagle says he believes the findings could affect lawmakers' willingness to enact new online privacy protections. "There's been this assumption that future generations will care less. That has caused some inaction among regulators," he says. "One argument that's frequently employed is the idea that we shouldn't regulate now, because laws passed today would reflect the norms of the 35-year-old attorney who works in Washington, D.C., and not the teen users of Internet services."

Some of the findings seem especially relevant for companies that use behavioral advertising techniques. Thirty-three percent of 18- to-24-year-olds say they deleted cookies often, while 25% say they do so sometimes. Among respondents of all ages, 39% say they often delete cookies, while 24% say they sometimes erase cookies.

For more information visit www.mediapost.com

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The Social Graf

Feds Say Bring On The Comments
by Erik Sass, Yesterday, 5:12 PM

At the order of the Obama administration, the Federal government has adopted a policy that will make it much easier for Federal agencies to use social media, according to OMBWatch, a site which follows the doings of the Office of Management and Budget. This is another, major step forward for officialdom in the social media arena -- and more proof that even the biggest, most risk-averse organizations can find value in social media strategies.
Basically, the OMB has issued a memo which waives cumbersome paperwork requirements for government communications that solicit or enable responses or feedback from private citizens. This paperwork was, ironically enough, required under the terms of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980.
Like all good Congressional legislation, the PRA seemed to accomplish the opposite of its name -- at least in this case -- by demanding copious documentation for any government publication that seeks input from regular folks (that's us). Specifically, the PRA requires Federal agencies to take out a control number from the OMB for every form requesting public feedback, which is enough of a disincentive to deter may Federal agencies from undertaking any truly interactive projects to, say, solicit suggestions about improving their Web pages.
Happily, the OMB has waived these requirements in accord with the Open Government Directive issued by the White House on December 8, 2009, according to OMBWatch. The waiver specifically exempts Web-based interactive technologies that enable "unstructured" feedback from the public -- a category that includes visitor comments on Web pages, as well as online initiatives from Federal agencies using sites like Facebook, Twitter, and so on. Anything soliciting "structured" feedback -- online forms, questionnaires, etc. -- is still subject to the terms of the PRA.
Thus the Feds have made a fairly important distinction between two types of communication, which didn't even really exist in 1980 when the PRA was passed. Back then, you had your questionnaires and forms, which were mailed to individuals, who for their part could write a letter and mail it to a Federal agency if they were motivated (read, enraged) enough. The "unstructured" feedback which might appear on agency Web pages clearly resembles the latter more than the former, and so should be exempt from any bureaucratic oversight which applies to communications originating with the government.

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Marketing Daily Insight

Can Mobile Make Us Feel More Situated?

by Bob Deutsch, 4 hours ago

Technology is great but we must not forget that the future has an ancient, living heart. Human nature keeps that vital organ pumping in search of hope, predictability, and comfort.

People now view more web pages on their iPhone browsers than on Windows mobile or many dot.com platforms. However, before manufacturers can increase the ROI and loyalty from the mobile experience, designers need to leverage more than just another device or provide location data and proximate points of interest to eat or shop.

Maximizing eyeballs ("Spray 'n' Pay") is not enough. With all this platform and device choice, attention often becomes so fragmented and frenetic, content so sliced-and-diced, that people come away feeling less "situated" than at the outset of their search. GPS-enabled Where.com is a metaphor for the opportunity -- yet to be realized -- that mobile can offer.

Managing Their Place ...

Regardless of creative bent, personality or profession, human beings seek a sense of "their world as a manageable place." People want to feel they can, in the words of the archetypal battlefield commander, who after briefing troops, screams, "Move out!" It's not that people expect the world to be their oyster, but they want the confidence that stems from feeling they have the lay of the land so they can move forward with their chins up. That's the real "search" experience people crave.

Nowadays, though, more often than not, we feel that we live in a world that is too fast, too competitive and too unpredictable. It's not that people don't have answers. They rightly don't know what questions to ask. The current context of the world is, "I don't know the name of the current context of the world."

Today so much is commoditized, especially connectivity and content, even time. People are living in an endless series of staccato "nows" where context is lost resulting is a diminution of long-term motivation. The search for finding an expanded-me has been derailed.

The Ubiquitous Mobile Opportunity

This is where mobile can come in. Mobile devices are always with us. They are handy (literally) or in our pocket, and become part of our body (and image). This makes them different. It makes them intimate, which makes them a unique tool to help people establish a firmer footing.

In these streaming digital times, agencies need to produce always-with-me experiences and participatory venues for mobile consumers. They must go beyond slogans, sales shout-outs and exaggerated snippets of behavior. They must create seamlessly integrated communications wherein video material is interwoven with other presentation forms (some user, some pro-sumer generated), all in the service of broader brand stories that fit into real peoples' real lives. To do this, agencies must understand people, not just technology. (Parenthetically, each person is a unity of many parts. Agencies should follow a similar organizational plan.)

Design for Coherence

So that people don't feel constantly overloaded and splintered, successful digital agencies should design digital and mobile experiences that provide a sense of coherence among the myriad of "unconnected dots." Then individuals could flourish and in that personal blooming an enhanced sense of community would emerge. A vital life vitalizes everything around it.

To convert the pressure of time rushing by to time well spent takes more than a few new bells and whistles. Agencies must transition from connectivity, to content, to context, such that each of their clients is perceived as a partner, not merely a provider of product. This requires a vision of the company as more than a bullhorn for sales, but a facilitator of customers' self-expansion. That's the leader who makes everyone else the center of attention. That's the Ur-Leader -- the one who is valuable, not just available.

Culture is a mega-structure that creates an undergirding to peoples' quest for meaning. It enables individual exploration and creativity within a social matrix. Current times have largely shattered that structure. The irony might be that a little hand-held mobile device, a modern invention par excellence, could evoke a sense of culture by helping people situate themselves in a world where space and time have been obliterated.

Agencies need to become purveyors of culture, not just hawkers of products or multi-platform razzmatazz.

For more information visit www.mediapost.com