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As the saying goes, “with great power comes great responsibility.” Unfortunately for Google, smaller competitors are less concerned with responsibility of privacy control and more concerned with power ad relevance. Because of this, the search giant has fallen behind the times and is sacrificing a good deal of revenue because of it.
In a recently leaked seven-page “vision statement” from the company, it becomes clear that Google is going through an identity crisis. Google is trying to come to grips with the payoff of personal data mining vs. the potential bad PR and regulatory problems it carries.
The confidential vision statement goes on to describe some of the options currently being discussed by the company. The ideas span from potential changes in search, retargeting, and even a data exchange in where the vast amounts of personal data collected by Google could be sold on the open market. This article from the Wall Street Journal has outlined each potential tactic Google is considering to expand their targeting efforts.
The degree to which Google is targeting users by specific channel over time is displayed in this helpful interactive chart.
Google needs to push towards an aggressive tracking and data mining program if they are to stay competitive in the marketplace. Simple education, user controlled privacy options, and open transparency are what the company needs in order to hammer on, forging ahead with some of these programs. As behavioral based targeting becomes more commonplace, people will begin to appreciate more relevant ads as they realize their individual privacy isn’t really in jeopardy.
