Crew, G8rMom7 needs some feedback so lets use this thread to drop off links, articles, thoughts, suggestions, ideas etc. for her.  G8rMom7 – I was wondering if some of you could help me. Without giving too much detail I work in marketing/advertising and basically on the legal side. As you probably are aware the FTC is engaged currently in trying to take some control and limit the amount of PII advertisers can get on consumers. For instance, they are developing Online Behavioral Advertising guidelines and many large corporations have in parallel been working on guidelines for self-regulation to avoid more government interference. 

Anyway, my big beef is how worried they are about companies targeting advertisements to you based on the type of sites and information you look at on the web…and yet I read something like this  “social-media-in-national/us-gov-software-creates-fake-people-on-social-networks-to-promote-propoganda” and think WTF? I have less of a problem if Best Buy has some PII on me and targets me with ads for electronics because I actually may be interested…than if the government is using much more nefarious tactics to get information on me to do…what exactly?

Here’s where I need some help. I’m actually going to a Conference in DC in a couple of weeks where we will get to meet with members of the FTC. I would SO love to connect the dots a little on this issue and bring up the fact that they should let corporations self-regulate since they obviously have no business throwing stones at us when they are doing the same thing to citizens of the United States and not so they can target them with relevant advertising.

But honestly, I’m not all that quick on my feet so to bring this up to them, I really want to make sure I have all the facts and can back up my argument. Thoughts? Anyone?

OK, so ya see what she needs.  Let’s each do a little cyber scouring and innerweb searching to find information for our TreeHouser to use in DC.   The last thing we need is a bunch of beaurocrats deciding rules and regulations about what “they define” as privacy.   We all know the best place for such regulation is in the industry itself where the business can immediately be reprimanded by the consumer for any concern.   If we allow the government to determine the sliding scale of how much information is private, and how it is used, we are losing freedom.  Think about it.   It’s just like the TSA issue on “Pat-Downs”. The issue I have with the TSA is not the ‘Pat-down’ per se, but more the scarey thought that “someone”, “somewhere” is making the decision on how intrusive those pat downs can be.  That someone ain’t me, it should be,  I am the consumer for the travel. 

I don’t cotton to someone else defining for ME what geographic distance from my sexual organs ‘JUNK’ is  an “acceptable” touching venture.   I’ll make that determination myself THANK YOU VERY MUCH; and if that means we do not participate in your regulatory travel demands, then eventually you are going to have to change your process or lose our business.   That is how free market decisions work. OOPs, got on soapbox… Sorry.  Anyhow, ya see what G8rMom7 needs… Let’s see if we can help  🙂