Tim Aten

Brave New Disney World

December 29, 2013 By Tim Aten Leave a Comment

A few weeks ago I had the good fortune to go on a deluxe Disney World vacation in Orlando, see the four major theme parks and stay at Old Key West Resort. It’s not surprising I had a magical time with great family memories of seeing my 11-year-old daughter soak and absorb it in.

Like most people who work and have “planners” in their family I stayed away from the logistics and anticipation. I didn’t go with preconceived ideas or expectations. I was just glad I was able to see it and experience it with my family. I returned intrigued and inspired in ways not expected.

I need to read this book Designing Disney’s Theme Parks: The Architecture of Reassurance before I get really into this discourse and perhaps will follow-up with a post.

Epoxy Coated Structures

The iconic buildings of Disney World, particularly Magic Kingdom and Epcot, left me feeling inspired and transfixed. Often when we go somewhere designed to replicate or pay homage to some other space it comes off as tacky and cheap. Think any Mexican or Chinese restaurant. The temporal space of Disney World doesn’t replace actual experience but transports the participant into some sort of world citizen consciousness. I was fascinated artificial structures of plastic and fiberglass created an atmosphere of global brotherhood and an Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow (EPCOT). I see why Walt Disney World is the benchmark. Cedar Point now seems like a dump.

My father is an architect and spent most of his career in facilities maintenance. Repeatedly throughout the week he’d say, “Epoxy Coated”.

One criticism was lack of focus on recycling in the hotels, bathrooms, and restaurants. A place like Epcot celebrates the environment with one building called “The Land” but I didn’t feel this was the forefront of the overall Disney Experience. Organizing and training the 100s of thousands daily guests in being environmentally conscious is a daunting task. I anticipate Disney will step up in the near future and will likely be game changers in that space.

The People In The Place

Much has been written in business discourses about the Disney business model and the people who make up their workforce. They even have their own school, The Disney Institute, to train other businesses. I was blown away by the attitude and efficiency of the Disney people from the bus driver that greets you at the airport, the bellman at the resort, the Haunted Mansion greeter, and even the smiles from the cleaning crew and grounds keepers. Once is a nice anomaly which can restore your faith in humanity. A noticeable and consistent vibe tells and teaches one that We (and I) are capable of greatness. Throughout the week I noticed the cordialness and attentiveness of the staff transcended to the guests and participants “on the stage.” Sure, there was an occasional rude person in a gift shop, but it was outside the norm considering the volume of people there. People seemed to get along all over and the world did seem to be a better place that week I was there.

In The Beginning A Structured Tribe

I have been fortunate to take some of the Disney Institute’s training. Experiencing the product firsthand was invaluable and made me ponder further the role and possibilities of large organizations. In a previous post titled Lone Wolf, Family Owned Business, or Corporate Jock I discussed my epiphany of large corporations striving for greatness for the company and the individual. In some ways the evolution of my identity has been from an idealistic poet to a digital marketer/storyteller in a large organization. Years ago I had a common college aged healthy skepticism and even cynicism to multi-national corporations. However, having worked for large organizations the past three years I’ve seen how they’ve helped me evolve as an individual and provide opportunity for me and my family. Despite inherent politics and questioning direction nothing has rubbed me the wrong way ethically.

At places like Epcot and Disney Institute training there is something possibly much richer and deeper than the bottom line and making a profit. With work comes reward. It is how the work is structured that matters and the root of an organization’s sustainability. Teaching, setting expectations, and relentlessly focusing on culture from the beginning is what Disney has seemed to master for its employees. It has created a culture and arguably an expectation of its customers to be a part of that experience.

There is a vast discourse and much to study when it comes to corporate structure, political economies, and global sustainability but I do think we can learn from an organization and experience like EPCOT. People are attracted to groups and seek structure, repetition, and respect. Of course this is a generalization, there are lone wolves and those against the grains, but we live in a universe where we need one another for survival. EPCOT celebrates these groups as nations and does it in a somewhat respectful and non-tacky way. The consumerism associated with it, the fact Disney is a for-profit company, did not come across as aggressive or intrusive in that environment. I understood it’s what needs to be done in order to make that experience for me and my family come alive.

It’s a cliché now to talk about the great Chinese curse “May you live in interesting times“. (Wikipedia showing not actually Chinese). These are interesting times when it comes to globalization, technology, and the concept of company. Small idealized entrepreneurial companies like Facebook, Google, and Twitter have skyrocketed into behemoth corporations with billions in revenue in a decade. For some this is utterly frightening with dystopian and Orwellian undertones. And for others, maybe an idealized poet, it has the consciousness to celebrate diversity, the magic of family, and make the world a better place by the way we treat one another. It is after all… a small world.

Internet Time Travel

December 1, 2013 By Tim Aten Leave a Comment

Going backward in time with The Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine at Archive.org.

Sharing a tool that’s come in very useful over the years and one I consistently recommend in “Agency World“. In the past when doing consistent client web design they’d often reference an old site they lost where they were naive and didn’t have their hosting credentials and were left at the mercy of an elusive web designer. We could sweep in as the saviors and magically resurrect their site even when that hosting account was long gone. Nine times out of ten you can use Archive.org to time travel backwards and see the site as it once was. I’ve rarely been stumped to not see a site out there. It won’t archive elaborate database driven websites and discussion forums. However, with some slight tweaks and knowing how to use Firefox’s firebug you can download all source images and style sheets to seemingly bring things back to life.

It also helps if you’ve been a bonehead and didn’t back up files from a site you’ve been working on over the years and you need that old image file or that copy that was really good.

I’ve also seen The Wayback Machine helpful for the non-technical agency and client types. Often I hear the question, “Didn’t we have such and such on our home page?” or “I can’t remember the features of that product we had four years ago“. A simple search via Archive.org can answer these questions quickly.

The Internet Archive: Wayback Machine is in the true Spirit of The Internet and heralds from the ancient days of 1996 as a non-profit with content curated from Alexa Internet subsequently purchased by Amazon. This is a highly sophisticated and inspiring attempt to archive and preserve the enormous amount of data that has permeated the universe in such a short amount of time. They’re really the current Library of Congress for the metaverse. As their about page says

Libraries exist to preserve society’s cultural artifacts and to provide access to them. If libraries are to continue to foster education and scholarship in this era of digital technology, it’s essential for them to extend those functions into the digital world.

Use it. Fund it.

I consulted the Wikipedia Entry on this post and was pleased to see that the Wayback Machine earned it’s name from the WABAC Machine used by none other than Rocky and Bullwinkle.

one last one – a10

November 16, 2013 By Tim Aten Leave a Comment

one last one

one minute the places one minute the faces one minute the spaces
one minute sunday’s sunrise after blurred kaleidoscope night atop city sky of fog and illuminated light
one minute sitting across a subway aisle purse in hand she’s gone
one ride one journey one life one shot one trip one last one
one minute living room and midnight tube staring into walls of
teenage lips legs high school jocks drank into the morning one minute gone
one minute a long island home
a minute to think a minute to wake a minute to realize
a minute in another’s minutes of anxiety
instances of interstates connecting to minutes in
the driver seat, subway seat, movie seat, park bench, couch
one minute look at smooth shoes and music
minutes of brush strokes and simple sweeps like the bus boy’s broom in a 24 hour diner
one minute seeing the sitting blacknesses of being with a zen priest sculpture sitting behind a museum glass window
one minute the pacific one minute the atlantic
tick tock it never stop and minutes are there
flashed and frozen
trapped in the brain

now

@EventParrot Twitter Experiment – Future of Syndication

October 19, 2013 By Tim Aten Leave a Comment

Earlier this year Google ended Google Reader. I was bummed and confused. I’m an information junkie and like content from wide variety of topics and creators. Why would a company discontinue such a useful service? Apparently there wasn’t enough people using the service and Google couldn’t justify the investment on its end for such a small audience.

On my Android Device I have Google Now and I can see how this is the future of news and content for “Push verses Syndication” and shows where Google wants to focus their developers. I have yet to really dive into Now and use it beyond stocks, weather, and traffic. For my digital, qigong, and UofM football news interests, these are no longer coming across via a Google product. As a substitute I have been using Feedly which I can’t speak highly enough of. I was able to transfer all my feeds via Google Reader exporter and incorporate into Feedly. If you haven’t done that you are too late, the exporter is no longer available. The Feedly ipad and Android app are superior to the previous Google Reader experience so, for me, all is right with the world.

Push Verses Syndication

And now Twitter is stepping up its game as we anticipate and watch for the upcoming IPO. Twitter is presenting an onslaught of new features and ad platforms namely it’s integration with Nielsen in SocialGuide which will likely revolutionize the way TV is analyzed…. and purchased. However, there is an “experiment” that has received modest press on Mashable and All Things Digital. These are the Twitter handles @Magic Recs and @Event Parrot.

It is hard to differentiate exactly what the difference is in that they both say they will send followers Direct Messages. @MagicRecs alludes it will send things based off your user/follower habits and @EventParrot may be more of a news source. I have only received messages from @EventParrot and these were primarily instant updates for breaking news around the government shutdown. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised and appreciated the interaction. Like most I was concerned and interested in the shutdown but totally consumed in my own life and work. Going to CNN.com, or whatever news source, was not top of mind. To use a pathetic excuse “I didn’t have time to go and look“. With @EventParrot, Bam! my phone vibrated with Boehner’s or Obama’s latest press conference with a short description and a link to CNN. This was a great user experience and greatly appreciated.

Twitter has been relatively quiet about all this and I’m sure they understand the implications and sensitivity with sending DMs to its users. It could easily fall into Spam territory and so far in my eyes they have not. When I received that message I immediately thought of the old Google Reader.

What if @EventParrot could send me notices in an acceptable frequency for articles and content that I think I should read?

Now that is cool.

Hit Me With Music – The Value In-Vehicle

October 15, 2013 By Tim Aten Leave a Comment

“I have a BMW. But only because BMW stands for Bob Marley and The Wailers, and not because I need an expensive car.”

-Bob Marley

Until a few months ago I was driving my grandfather’s 98 Buick LeSabre. It had rust and a few of his polka cassette tapes still in the arm rest. When he passed I inherited it. I sold the Scion I was driving and was free of a car payment. Anything to save money and make ends meet. My coworkers joked I had some secret crack habit. Sure, I wanted to drive a nicer car but I think I had come to accept my identity and the realities of life to not be tied up in the vehicle I drove. Honestly my frustration was having a cassette player that didn’t work and no easy way to listen to podcasts and digital music. I devised ways with adapters, jerry-rigged wires, and finally a portable speaker that I hooked up to my phone. Ghetto. The laughs and comments I think fueled the beatnik chip on my shoulder and didn’t really bother me.

Then I got a 2013 Buick Verano largely inspired by my employment at Buick/GMC and the realization I needed to better understand the product I was selling. The feel of the seats and the leather steering wheel were the first signifiers my personal game had changed and it was zippier and sportier than the weary LeSabre. And like most egos on this planet with a new car I noticed I was proud of what I was driving and no longer avoided eye contact in the parking garage along the Detroit River. Within a few days I noticed something more drastic for my mental frame of mind. It was the Intellilink unit. Having all this music seamlessly integrated with my phone, the Pandora app, Sirius, and the ability to listen to my podcasts was monumental. I could listen to This Week in Google with Leo Laporte to stay on top of the tech world and could blast reggae/dub to get lifted or put on roots Detroit Techno to get focused and grounded. A part of my identity was restored. I was learning and finding new things. Cultured.

Kids aren’t buying cars like they used to. Back in the day a car signified who you were. You were a “Buick Man” or only drove “Fords”. There’s been a lot of discourse how millenials aren’t driving cars or the status associated with them no longer holds. I don’t claim to fully be a part of this generation but my mentality when it comes to music is not far off. The experience of the music is just as important, if not more important, than the ride itself. When you are ingrained and hip to the music you can then participate in the social conversations.

The backbone of the in-vehicle experience is the technology and this is where the automotive companies are teeing up to do battle. Gregg Garrett in Connected World Magazine analyzes this question and poses the difficult questions companies are facing of Connected Company or Connected Product. On one level there is a struggle to not only adapt the masses to the technology, think teaching your grandmother to use Facebook, but to how do we develop it, think coming up with the latest Google Glass app. And more importantly the question needs to be asked, “Who is going to own that experience and potentially incrementally monetize it?”

Concepts of Value Are Changing

At the core our definitions of value are evolving and companies are both adapting and struggling. Value is becoming more abstract and a concept. For me, value is being able to listen to my music loud from the podcast I downloaded two weeks ago versus what size cylinder is in my Verano. I’m not saying I’m the norm but there are many, think Sonic and Spark drivers, who feel this way. These experiences along with the signified connections with those who value similar things create communities and tribes and in turn create loyal customers.

These are tremendously exciting times as new apps and even new ways of thought like the self driving car come into our society. How will the industry and how will the rockabilly shop class greasers who are now the nerdy mustached hipsters with startup companies take us to places only a 1am Detroit Techno Gratiot Avenue Drive can even dare?

8 Mile & Woodward – Transformation in US Race Relations

September 15, 2013 By Tim Aten 1 Comment

Some political theories expound on the trickle down. What about the grassroots up?

In discussing anything geographic or demographic in Detroit one should get point of reference right out of the way. It’s always the issue. I’m white, live a few blocks off 8 mile in Ferndale, have lived in the city of Detroit by Wayne State, some time in New York City, Ann Arbor, and Cleveland. In high school I lived in Birmingham, Michigan. Immediately that Birmingham reference draws conclusions and assumptions. That’s fine. We all do it. For all the out-of-towners, and there’s many out of towners visiting and writing about Detroit, this makes me appear to be a college educated white male from a wealthy suburb. Those that know me, read my writings, have read my poetry, know this may be one facet. Like all humans, there are many dimensions.

I lead with all this because I’m going to make a bold statement.

The Meijer grocery store on 8 mile and Woodward is one of the most critical points/events in Detroit race relations. Maybe someday looked back on as important for the United States.

I’ve lived close to 8 mile for over 10 years now and I was always curious what entrepreneur was going to make the first real bold move. There was a flower store years back, Blumz . It closed and headed a few blocks north. I wondered if a restaurant or night club was going to take the plunge. I was taken aback when I first heard Meijer, a Michigan based large independent superstore, was building a store there. I didn’t think it was unwise but wondered if you could support something that big in that area.

I don’t claim to know any politics or jockeying for the area where Meier now sits by the old State Fairgrounds. I’m sure there were intricate and complicated negotiations to get the store built and like so many things in our society – winners and losers. I know of nobody being disenfranchised but would not be surprised if that were the case. (An interesting topic for comments?)

A few weeks back at its grand opening I went with my wife and daughter. Curious. We were pleasantly surprised. The store was spotless, airy, and the produce looked very fresh and well presented. I was intrigued at the positive vibe in the air. Many of us, like our family, were glad to have a Meijer-like store in our area. Currently we have to travel a suburb or two north to go to a Meijer or Target and having one nearly a mile away will be helpful. I think many of the other people in the store felt the same way. There were smiles and head nods. The employees also seemed to be happy to be there and excited. All of this didn’t have racial lines. There were black and white patrons as well as black and white employees and managers. It was almost as if the feeling was like “we got this, we deserve this, and we’re going to keep this. This is normal and no big deal”.

I have to say I was surprised and humbled by reaction. Just as you likely made assumptions about me in the first paragraph of this essay I had a made assumptions about what a Meijer in Detroit would be, what the people would be like, what the feeling in the air would be. It was not as what I had suspected. It was all hard-working people, friendly, and you could tell the people were upstanding and rationale people in society. There was a bright hope. To clarify this is NOT to imply I believe parts of Detroit are the opposite ie, lazy, mean, low-class, and irrational. Far from the truth. Having lived in the city before and working there everyday I do feel a tension and apathy in pockets. In some places it feels like there is no hope, there is resignment to the circumstances that are.

Meijers I didn’t feel that. Deep down maybe I felt ashamed I assumed there wasn’t this volume of hard-working and people who want the same things out of life like me and my family and are just trying to make it in the system we live.

I’m sure Meijer is happy with their first weeks of sales, when I drive by it at 7am there are many cars in the parking lot. The key will be if they can keep up the cleanliness and apparent high employee morale. Security will be another big test. Should bad things go down in the parking lot, they will have trouble having people come there. Then again bad things happen in Birmingham, we just don’t hear a lot about it.

It’s the ordinary day-to-day which forms the subtle and unconscious backbone of a culture and society, not necessarily the obvious things like clothes, food, nightclubs, or even transformative events like riots. Looking at the places of commerce where these goods are purchased, the markets, one can really see the pulse of that civilization. Maybe if we understand what happens there we can see where the future will lead. I give credit to Meijer for taking the bold move to move to an area that may have had a culturally perceived risk. As a citizen in the area I am happy to have those goods conveniently located and as a man living in metro-Detroit… hopeful that things like race have taken a turn for the better at 8 mile and Woodward.

Musings on Google Glass

August 2, 2013 By Tim Aten 1 Comment

I remember the first time I picked up an iPhone at the Apple Store. It was magical. I think I was reading Coelho’s The Alchemist at the time and seeing YouTube video on that device was like Santiago picking up Urim and Thummim and the omens that come with it. It was Gollum’s Precious. I had to have it. I was envious of early adopters. Eventually I had an iPhone, found it useful, and I could say it enhanced my physical world and space. All the familiar things which come with a smart phone like email, newsfeeds, podcasts, video content, and maps the iPhone over-delivered. Since that time many years ago I’ve had multiple smart phones and I have to say each one is an upgrade, a tweak to progress.

I remember the first time I read about the iPad. “That looks stupid.” “Who the hell would carry around that enormous cell phone with them?” I think a lot of people shared this sentiment when the announcement was leaked. I had no desire to get one. I was connected enough with my lappie and iPhone. Until I held one.

Within seconds of the first time I held a great graphic designer’s iPad I got it. Content so wistfully flashed through with a finger tip and the lightness of the device attributed to the elegant design. It was sleek. Restful. In a primitive way I wanted to sit down by a fire and absorb content. I believe the designer had some bright day-glo keyboard app for his kids and I was spellbound by the noise and colors. I could see myself playing the app all day. I didn’t want to give it back.

My experience with Google Glass was a little different. Last week I experienced Glass thanks to my friend and colleague Maria Jewett who wrote into Google saying she should be an early adopter. Her story and ideas caught their attention, she flew to New York, picked up Glass, and came back to Detroit. I was fortunate to meet her at the Guardian Building to give them a try.

My first impression is it really does look like simulator videos that show an environment with a little square television in the upper right hand corner that has some degree of transparency. I found it ironic and a bit ominous it is very similar to the technology found in the apocalyptic and transhumanist Google produced YouTube video series H+. If you watch some of the previews it does seem like that’s where Google Glass could end up.

I found it clunky and a little jarring. I imagine someday I’ll look back on the encounter the same way I remember seeing people carrying around purse sized mobile phones or beepers. Having to lift up your head to turn off and on, swiping with your index finger, or say commands didn’t feel natural. Like many I’ve heard the rumblings of people getting headaches and I can understand that.

I was also in guest mode so admittedly I haven’t had the full experience. However, I saw the samples of seeing a person’s social mugshot with their name next to them in your field of vision. All privacy aside, if we were all connected and opted in with our friends, that phenomena and ability is completely new. It’s cool but I don’t think it’s one I seek. When I’m flying on a plane I like my anonymity.

As I was using them I realized midway through Maria, who I was just enjoying a cup of tea with, completely vanished from my focus and attention. She was talking and quite honestly I wasn’t paying attention, I was focusing on the images of jellyfish on the Glass. It’s sensory over-drive, video game-like. One has to focus on two points. How klutzy and strange it would be for two Homo sapiens each with Glass to have a conversation. I can imagine a lot of “Huh’s?” and “What did you say?”

Another thing that came to mind is the digital divide. Issues of class in our society are now issues of the haves and have-nots of technology. I remember for my company we volunteered in a low-income community at a school to help 7-year-old kids in the computer lab. It was obvious these children didn’t have computers in their homes and time on the standard-issue PC at school was it. I was humbled and inspired by their eagerness and excitement on the computer but also taken aback by their lack of familiarity with hyperlinks and operating systems using my similar-aged daughter and her friends as a barometer. Kids are lightening quick to understand and figure out technology but the low-income communities I fear are becoming isolated further and further from this technology. What happens when these $1500 Google glasses go mainstream? Maybe they eventually sell for $500. Sergey Brin said going back to a smart phone made him feel “emasculated”. He said he felt more engaged with reality and aware of his surroundings with Glass. His hands were free. What’s the opposite of “emasculated”? Powerful? Omnipotent? Watching the video of him talking it looks like we’re getting into cyborg territory. I pose the question when it comes to society at large, we don’t even have to get into class, empowered over what? And why?

Slippery Slope territory. A Pandora’s box is being opened and my thoughts are still out there whether this is cool.

Pimping Portable Power

May 27, 2013 By Tim Aten Leave a Comment

When I set off with the lofty idea to share observations on ways the Internet is structured, used, and marketed by venturing into concepts of cultural change and consciousness I didn’t think I’d dive into the hardware space. I figured I’d leave that to local Detroit boys Icrontic who obsessively research and review all types of hardware and gear.

As I think of new posts, new content, I sense hardware may be coming up more frequently as Singularity seems to be the talk of the intelligentsia.

It’s a bit of a novelty in my family my mother seems to have a fondness for QVC. Often when we visit my folks house there’ll be a brown UPS package on the doorstep. Most of the time we’ll question the necessity of the item or the tech snob in me will scrutinize the printer she ordered that has all sorts of cases, cables, and inks as “added bonuses”. Her most recent purchase she gave me as a gift I shrugged off as another one of these tech trinkets but time has proven my mom right and in-the-know. Even as we get older moms still know what’s best.

She gave me a mega powerbank 8400 which is a portable battery pack. In my new role at work I’ve found myself on location for video shoots, social media on-site events, and a weekly meeting off-site at a partner agency. One day I had a 15 hour day with only one electrical outlet for 50 people in a garage-like building we were using as a production facility. I quickly ran out of battery power for my phone and laptop, not to mention those around me. (FYI and FULL DISCLOSURE – that’s an Amazon Affiliate link for the Power Bank. The gist is if you click on the link and buy I get a %. Read my post “C.R.E.A.M – How to Make Money On The Internet“.) In about hour 7 I was able to charge my phone, my laptop, and a co-worker as well. It’s also come in handy at social events we’re I’m doing battery intensive exercises like taking pictures, texting, tweeting and uploading photos to Facebook and Google+.

Also of interest in writing this post is the increasing presence of QVC in search results. It’s a space I don’t pay much attention when it comes to search but I’m noticing QVC encroaching on the big boys like Amazon and eBay. With their stronghold on TV and integration with apps (that my mother downloaded immediately when getting her iPad) I sense they will continue to be a force to reckon with and pay attention to.

..uhhh…. Thanks Mom.

Cookies, Ghostery, and Online Privacy

April 4, 2013 By Tim Aten 4 Comments

First off this post is NOT for those buying and creating online display ads everyday. You already know this.

The buying and tracking of display banner ads is akin to stock trading with millions of dollars being made on penny clicks. If you want to deep dive and understand I suggest you begin with the LUMAscapes over at Luma Partners. If you go there… welcome to the matrix and the tangled web.

This post is for folks curious how the technology of online display advertising works which also leads to a richer understanding of online privacy.

To get started you need to know about the Ghostery plugin for Safari, Firefox, Chrome, IE, and Opera. This plugin gives real-time information for every cookie, tracking software, or tracking company used on that particular page. It reveals what ad networks, data providers, analytic tools, and demand side platforms are used. Initially the pop-up is a bit annoying, however I’ve found it quite useful and have grown accustomed to it. When surfing around I want to know what’s going on underneath the hood. You do have the ability to turn it off. The screenshot below is an example of the pop-up. Notice the red arrows.

For people concerned about online privacy Ghostery allows you to become invisible (get it- a ghost) by turning off these technologies in your browser. You can “go rogue” and see the web as it would be unfiltered.

Maybe you don’t want to turn everything off. Maybe you’re annoyed with a banner ad for a company that seems to be foolishly retargeting you all over the internet. It seems like they’re stalking you. Ghostery will help you identify who this and then you can block that cookie or script.

I have also found the Ghostery tool useful for the following two ways-

Education

You can select to find out about each technology Ghostery has uncovered. To the left is an example of the background information on DoubleClick. Notice in the drop downs it reveals the privacy policy for DoubleClick and supplies the Privacy Contact. Ghostery does this for each technology. I have found by clicking on these companies and the ones I don’t know I began to learn about trending and innovative marketing technologies on the web.

Competitive Intelligence

As we know we need to hammer into our kids nothing you put on the internet is private. Same goes for marketers.

You can freely “spy” with this tool on your competitors to see what technologies and networks they are using in their website and internet efforts.

Ghostery and Evidon

So what is Ghostery? Ghostery is a tool given about by Evidon. Taken from the Ghostery site –

Evidon is a technology company that provides solutions for consumers, businesses and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that enable them to see, understand and control data online. For businesses and NGOs, Evidon provides the technological underpinnings that put the AdChoices icon, which functions as a “tracking nutrition label” into ads, as well as reports on trackers and what they are doing on the web. For consumers, we provide Ghostery. Evidon is able to support Ghostery through our users who choose to opt into the anonymous Ghostrank panel, which allows us to make tracker reports and helps to provide organizations like the Better Business Bureau with information that helps them enforce self-regulation. Our mission, as a company, is to make the web more transparent for everyone involved. We strongly believe that making disclosure more transparent will raise the quality of the entire online advertising industry by enabling advertisers to grow and innovate with privacy in mind.

What Evidon is not:

Evidon is not an advertising network or behavioral data collection service.
Evidon doesn’t work to allow advertisers to be more invasive.

Evidon gives companies a common and standard way to become transparent. When you surf around the internet and see an ad that has the Ad Choices logo it’s likely to have been implemented through a technology from Evidon. Clicking this little logo allows you to opt out right there to be tracked via that ad. Doing this adheres to most companies’ privacy policy and then allows them to have the nice privacy policy in the footer that all legal departments love and require.

So what about Online Privacy?

Ghostery and Evidon have online privacy pretty well figured out and standardized. They have given power to the user, and the marketers with the platform, to turn tracking software on or off. It is a bit technical and there are many features to it but it beats the blanket-approach alternative.

My elitist statement of the blog is users need to become better educated with the tools they are using. I’ll use the same metaphor as parenting again. You need to know what technologies your kids are using along with what’s being used to track them.

And what is the blanket-approach alternative? Europe. Most European countries require all cookies to be turned off. In order to use them a user has to opt in.

It’s interesting. I’m a Net Neutrality supporter. I don’t think there should be a “fast lane” for certain providers and publishers and I’m a what you would call an “Open Source Guy”. I’m inspired and invigorated by the possibilities of the open web. I’ll romanticize the Arab Spring with any techie. Judging from this you may think I’d be an online privacy policeman and support anything that turns off tracking technologies. Quite the opposite.

I rather give this power to users as Ghostery does instead of legislators who don’t understand the digital space. I also think we forget these tools and websites we use every day like Facebook, Twitter, and Google are FREE! Sustainability and research for publishers and search engines needs to come from some place. Subscription models are very hard to implement and advertising can massively scale easily.

These technologies assist the marketers and provide value to the user. If we adopt in the US a blanket turn off of cookies, which there is a movement for, we’ll see blanket ads that have no applicability to us. I could be surfing and could be served an ad for Tampax. The advertiser is throwing their money away and I am annoyed. Marketers who are respectful of privacy and digital social mores like “don’t stalk” and “don’t be a jerk by continuously retargeting” will empower the web and allow for the existence of publishers of the free content and resources we’ve grown so accustomed to.

In the words of the great Alan Watts – “Pay Attention!”

Ghostery will help get you there.

Content Marketing and Campfire Storytelling

February 10, 2013 By Tim Aten Leave a Comment

Wow. Just saw this video from The Cognitive Media about Coca Cola Content 2020. Brilliant. I have a feeling I will be watching over and over. All this talk of “Content Marketing”- it seems like it’s taking over the buzz word “Big Data”. What would our aboriginal ancestors think about all this as they told stories around the campfire. The internet is our campfire.