Shared Endorsements: Why Do You Care?
So I was recently doing my catch up news read for the day, and stumbled across the announcement that Google’s privacy policy. What madness is this. A policy change! *flips table* Well, at least that’s what the rest of the Internet was doing while I so dutifully began the process of making sure I knew what was going on, to see if any action needed to take place. Guess what? There wasn’t. My settings shall remain as they were and in fact the sooner this rolls out the better.
But This Is How Your Industry Makes Its Money
Sure, but to all you naysayers out there, full disclosure. This is my opinion. And yes I am part of an internet marketing agency, and yes something like this could lead to higher click through rates, which could lead to more conversions, so of course I would support it. But have you ever realized we’re human beings too? Who are concerned about privacy, and where are name is being displayed especially if it’s being used to endorse a product or service. Nuts huh? With that said let’s move on.
So… Why Was This Implemented?
Google’s moving towards an open web, where authors can be tracked down and held accountable for what they’ve said. The layer of anonymity that the web is so well known for is also it’s greatest weakness. Anyone can say anything, without a shred of evidence to support their statements/articles/excessively long blog posts. There’s an old saying, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. Well I’m sorry. Google was broken. And they’ve come a long way in fixing it, with authorship, and verification through Google+ and now the new Hummingbird update. This is the next step, and it’s a biggie. Real people, +1’ing real things, and recommending real products? That’s fine. Then Google adds their pictures and everyone goes crazy!
Thus far the most active and vocal crowd has been those who believe that this is a breach in privacy, and is plain creepy. So riddle me this. Why in the world would I trust a company without any social presence over one where, a) I can see the face of a person I know personally, and b) I know said person has +1’d this company for a reason. It’s that human validity check all over again.
Seem Familiar?
As a final note may I remind you of another company doing this? Does the name Facebook ring a bell? Somehow we’ve all forgotten that apocalypse. The 100’s of updates that users are always in outrage over. This update to Google’s ads is a natural evolution for Google in personal recommendations, and not only that they’re actually giving you a heads up, and let you opt out. Completely. And if you still think it’s a breach of your personal privacy, please turn it off and stop complaining.