Privacy and Respect - Your thoughts?

I have been having an ongoing debate with the anonymous (bt_user) regarding marketing practices and the fundamental question of:

Should consumers have an expecation of privacy when it comes to marketing to them on their mobile phone? i.e.; Should consumers invite marketers first or is it ok for marketers to send friendly "invitations" for FREE content?




Please send me comments as a response to the following 3 scenarios.

Scenario 1:
You are inside a movie theatre waiting in line for your popcorn when your phone beeps telling you that you have a new message. You pull out your phone and see a message displayed on your phone:

Would you like to receive a FREE movie trailer? (Yes/No)

Would you:
a.) Say "Yes" and download the trailer
b.) Say "No" because
i.) You don't know who is sending it
ii.) It might be a virus
iii.) You didn't ask for this so it's SPAM
iv.) You aren't sure if it costs you anything to download


Scenario 2.

You are standing in the bus shelter - it's pouring down rain - and your phone beeps telling you that you have a new message. Inside the bus shelter is a poster telling you that there is a FREE single from NickleBack available for download.

Would you:
a.) Say "Yes" and download the trailer
b.) Say "No" because
i.) You don't know who is sending it
ii.) It might be a virus
iii.) You didn't ask for this so it's SPAM
iv.) You aren't sure if it costs you anything to download
v.) Who is NickleBack?

Technically speaking both of these situations qualify as SPAM. You did not expressly give anyone permission to contact you on your mobile phone and yet they did - and you had to take the phone out of your pocket/purse/backpack and answer it. Even if the content is cool and you are happy to get it - the first time contact was made it was without permission.

Privacy:

There are a number of studies that discuss personal "zones" of privacy and how we should respect these different zones. A great sales book by Tony Paranello ("Getting the Second Appointment") discusses these as the confidential zone, the individual zone, the social zone and the common zone and how in sales you should never cross from one zone to the next closer zone without being invited. Marketers could learn a lot from this.

The phone is in the closest zone - the confidential zone which is roughly defined as an 18 inch space all the way around you. My phone is almost always within that space. And to reach me within that space without invitation is taking a huge risk.



There is a simple matter of respect that has to be acknowledged that people have the right to their privacy - especially within their confidential zone.


Scenario 3.

In scenario 1 and 2 you said - "Yes" I'll have it. And you also said you don't think this is SPAM and I'm just being draconian in my thinking. Let's fast forward taking advantage of the benefit of Hollywood and look at a variation on a theme from the movie "Minority Report".

You're walking along the high street or through a mall and your phone beeps and buzzes constantly in your pocket. Every shop wants to offer you something. Every billboard wants to offer you something. Every lamppost wants to send you FREE cool content. None of these people know who you are or what you might be interested in, they just know that your phone is nearby and that if you don't have it turned off, then you are happy to receive the "invitation" to get stuff. You have to say "No Thanks!" every other step. SPAM isn't in your e-mail box and being filtered - it's in your pocket and your pocket is vibrating and ringing so much it's worn a hole in your pocket. All because when this started you said, "It's fine! I like getting FREE stuff."

So what am I suggesting?

I'm suggesting that we take the traditional approach of using those posters and billboards to let people know that FREE content does exist - but then ask the consumer to take the first action - to request the content be downloaded to their phone. The consumer has to take the first step.


Did you notice anything missing?

That's right - I never discussed the technology - I left it completely out of the discussion up until now - because it didn't matter. But anyone who knows me can guess that I'm talking about Bluetooth.




Companies like Beamzone, WideRay, Alterwave, Hiwave, Lesswire, Eyeled, Filter, Aura and more are popping up all over the place - and each and every one of them is offering solutions to SPAM people on their mobile phone via Bluetooth. They all have their own unique ideas and justifications as to why it's ok to invade people's privacy and their own unique ideas on what it means to Opt-out. And I believe that many of them are currently trying to influence EU and other legislative and regulatory and industry bodies that what they are doing should be exempt from SPAM.


To give you a snapshot of bt_user's ideas:

I suggest that if we don't watch it then the governments will decide - his response:

>"The governments will decide."

> German government mostly decides the way, the marketers want them to.
> Besides that, they are very slow. I don't worry.

I suggest that Newspaper, TV and Radio are different - his response:

>"Newspapers, TV and Radio don't force you to take action like your
>mobile does"


Wrong. They do. TV and Radio, both force you to switch to another
channel, if you don't like the ads.

"if it were the case that I pointed a spotlight on your company and
business practices - you know they wouldn't hold up."

> Calm down. Our business practicess are legal, successful, and people
> like it. We have big customers. They would not do anything which was
> not legal or not favoured amongst their users.

"You would never publicly say some of the things you've said either anonymously or here in this private e-mail because you know that you can't defend them publicly."

> There is no need to defend something which is agreed by most people. I simply hide because > a) we face a rough competition (you see: it is a market) , and b) I never use my clear name on > the web.


=====

So - I wonder where mister anonymous_bt is today? Are they still in business?