NEWSLETTER #68 I MAY 14, 2017
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TRACKERS AND HACKERS
I'm writing a book about the dangers of tracking and ad tech. The thesis of the book is that because of tracking (just a pleasanter word for surveillance) advertising has gone from a minor annoyance to a major menace. But it seems like every day what I have written becomes obsolete as new revelations about online criminality and sleaze are exposed.
This week we had the worldwide ransomware attack that crippled businesses, institutions, and government computers in 99 countries. It essentially shut down the UK National Health System. Apparently the tools for the attack were stolen from the NSA.
While this attack was unrelated to ad tech, you have to do a lot of magical thinking to believe that creeps who can hack the NSA can't hack any ad tech bozos that seem juicy.
Rifling Through The Trash
Also this week we learned about a lovely company called Unroll.me. Their business is to instantly rid your inbox of junk mail and crappy newsletters (yes, there are some!) Except that wasn't really their business.
"The service is owned by the market-research firm Slice Intelligence, and...while Unroll.me is cleaning up users’ inboxes, it’s also rifling through their trash," said the NY Times.
An example of how it works: While getting rid of junk mail, they secretly rummaged around in users' mail boxes and found receipts from "ride-sharing" service Lyft and sold the information to Lyft's famously ethically-challenged rival, Uber.
Hype Exhaustion?
This week the poster child of marketer hyperventilating -- virtual reality -- took a couple of hits.
First, Facebook closed down its Oculus VR film studio. Of course, since they paid $2 billion for Oculus they can't just let it evaporate. According to an executive there, they are "still absolutely committed to growing the VR film and creative content ecosystem." Anyone who can say "creative content ecosystem" with a straight face needs a good solid knee to the groin.
Next, McDonald's "marketing team began moving away from using the company's app as a promotional tool and toward a strategy that allows the brand to engage with customers through virtual and augmented reality," says MediaPost.
When the McMarketers of the world start jumping on a bandwagon, you know a marketing gimmick has achieved full-blown hype exhaustion.
One thought about virtual reality -- isn't actual reality bad enough?
Mouthing Off
I'll be in the UK (Oxford) on Thursday speaking to a group of marketers for Sky Media.
Then on June 6th I'll be back in London speaking at an event sponsored by design agency Mellor&Smith. It's an open event, so go here for info on attending.
