Privacy and Insights... Blurred Lines?

The topic of ethics, privacy, fairness and marketing insights is less about if it’s a prevailing issue but more about how greatly is it going to affect our lives as we continue to become a more digitally connected world. I think we all can agree with the simple notion that our lives are influenced in many positive ways by technology and big data. Whether it is the ability to get work done more efficiently or being able to connect with people/organizations all over the world seamlessly, technology has given us power to achieve greatness on many levels. However, the caveat is privacy and boundaries are compromised and in many times non-existent. And as a society today, we want all the benefits and potential provided by big data but are unwilling to give up our rights to privacy because it’s nobody’s to take. But the truth of the matter is we have to be comfortable giving up some of our privacy and protected information because it’s happening whether we like it or not.

I was shocked to see the exhaustive list of websites that are giving away personal data (as seen in the article “They Know What You’re Shopping For”). Whether it is a widely used site like Yahoo to a somewhat random site like Photobucket.com, these companies are willingly giving away their users’ information without us even knowing about it. What’s even crazier is WSJ is on this list of companies that give away personal data, so as I read this very article my information is being passed on to multiple other companies! 

List of companies sharing our personal information... yikes. Source: "They Know What You're Shopping For"

I almost wish I hadn’t seen this because, personally, ignorance is bliss. I don’t necessarily want to know which sites are passing along my personal information, as long as it isn’t resulting in fraud or harassment by companies. I have come to terms with the fact that information sharing occurs and as an active internet user, I just have to be careful about which sites I visit and where I provide personal information. So yes, it is scary and disturbing to know my information is housed in many different places, but this is the price I pay for living in a digitally connected world that is centered on creating insights and delivering tailored experiences. Till this day I get slightly shell shocked when I see a specific advertisement in the Google Search sidebar for a retailer whose site I visited an hour earlier (the only kind of cookie I am not so thrilled about!). This is even more evident on Facebook, where all ads in the right-hand panel is related to a recent Google search or website visit. However, I don't think I have ever actually clicked on one of these ads because it either isn't relevant to me in that moment or I don't want to disrupt my valuable Facebook session. But it’s the world we live in today, and I am okay with it. 

I ordered Domino's two days ago online, and it is still showing up as a Facebook ad!

But I also very strongly believe companies need to use the information they gather correctly and with purpose – something that is likely not happening to the degree it should. For example, if I visit WSJ regularly and my information is being collected and shared, I would hope it’s to offer suggestions on new articles that are most relevant to my past page visits NOT to send spam emails about a new product offering that I have no interest in buying. I also believe companies should not be gathering highly sensitive data such as social security numbers and phone numbers because this is a true invasion of privacy that could lead to really terrible things like fraud or identity theft. 

I also believe people are more willing to accept information sharing when it is for something they greatly value, such as saving money or being in the know about a new and popular product. I can’t even count how many times I’ve filled out a survey or signed up for an email/account to gain access to discounts or sale items. In fact, I willingly provide my information because the benefit of saving money greatly outweighs any privacy issues I may be compromising. On many occasions I have received mail from retailers like Target and Walmart that advertise products that are relevant to my life, such as beauty products and trendy apparel. It is clear that these companies know who I am and are giving me content/inspiration that is tailored to my age group. Some may find this disturbing or “creepy” but I actually appreciate this. If it’s relevant to me and I had to put forth minimal effort to get this level of personalization, I am on board. But it’s a completely different story when I am visiting a site to do research for a class and my information is passed along to research companies without my knowing or consent. Another example is the idea of my cell phone being used as a personal sensor and tracking device, and how me simply browsing a menu for a local restaurant could result in spam email that is a nuisance and disruptive to my life. I want to share my information on my own accord, and if I don’t have a say I necessarily don’t want to know about it. 

It ultimately comes down to what people value and whether they are the ones sharing their personal information willingly or if it is being taken without consent. I value the potential for personalization that big data can deliver, but it has to be in the right medium and on my terms. I truly believe companies and consumers will continue to struggle with the idea of gathering insights based on shared information, but given we are only going to become even more demanding of personalization and efficiency, we have to be okay with sharing information.

My Love Affair with Creativity

Creativity is personally a dynamic topic for me because it is directly correlated to various external and internal motivators. For example, as I write this blog and all blogs in the past, I cannot use the suggested Times New Roman font in Word because I find that it limits my creativity and insight. Something about its basic and banal look reminds me of the rigid, constricting requirements of other class assignments. But don’t worry… I make sure to change the font after I’m done writing to ensure it meets this class’ requirements – but ever so briefly!

Individually, I believe I am a creative and inspired person – and this something I am proud of. In fact, ask my family and they will say that this has been my “differentiator” in the family. I was always prancing around the house making up new songs, choreographing dances and painting my favorite objects. Creativity and art has always gone hand in hand for me, and I can confidently assert that art and music bring out the purest and strongest forms of creativity from me.  I have danced all my life, and choreography is my way of translating sound into movement – the endless options of moves and rhythm is incredibly exciting and movingly inspirational. For some, the abstract nature of dance can be daunting and overwhelming. For me, I embrace the white space ahead and find myself producing some of my best work when I have the least amount of constraints and limitations. 

A big Indian dance recital at the age of 8. I know what you're thinking... I'm SO excited to be on stage.

This, however, cannot be applied to all areas of my life. For example, mathematics is a subject area that I am fairly weak in and the fact that this too is vast and overarching is incredibly scary! Without set rules, guidelines, and familiarity I tend to flounder and feel overwhelmed with quantitative tasks. Although one may think math is by nature a fairly uncreative subject, I would disagree because its most compelling application and use are closely tied to creativity and resourcefulness. Just ask astrophysicists or chemical lab technicians (yes, I actually asked people in these fields of work!). It is incredible how OPPOSITE my experiences with dance and math are! But the true revelation I have gained after years of working in spaces where my individual creativity has both flourished and been challenged is that creativity is directly linked to my self-confidence: when I am confident that I am able to succeed in a certain setting, my ideas are pointed and unique; when I fear a subject or correlate past failure to a certain situation, I am unimaginative and very timid. It is extremely important that I continue to identify work spaces, both professionally and personally, where I can cultivate my self-confidence because that is truly where I shine the brightest.

I have had the privilege of working for companies/teams that have truly allowed me to stretch my creativity abilities. From a work perspective, this may be attributed to the fact that most of my past employers have been smaller, more entrepreneurial (or intrapreneurial) establishments. It’s not to say that larger organization stifle creativity (as per my experience at Target, I believe they focus on this topic and make strides to promote creativity and inspiration), but I think it is easier to cultivate creativity when you are on a smaller team/work force that dedicate resources and emphasis to this notion. When working for my parents’ business, I was working on many nebulous and large projects that required a lot of inventiveness and the wearing of many hats (ugh I really hate that phrase), but because I was allowed to think outside of the box and provided with tools to cultivate my creativity is when the real golden nuggets were produced. Whether it was a simple conversation with a passionate employee or the freedom from management (yes, that would be my parents haha) to explore untapped markets and ideas, I was allowed to take risks and be bold. But of course, I was in a safe environment and this could have factored into my comfort with creativity and exploration. 

Sample project that resulted in my suggestion to enter the Indian beauty market. Talk about over-delivering.

Now on the flip side, without the comfort of a safe and supportive environment, my creativity levels are abysmal. My very first job out of undergrad was with a start-up fashion and beauty editorial website in NYC as an editorial assistant. Doesn’t this just scream creativity and imagination?! Well, it was at first when the team was small and functioned cohesively. The minute one bad apple joined the team, our entire group struggled to come up with new and innovative content for the website. We felt unsupported and limited to sharing our ideas because ridicule usually almost followed suit. It was a nasty place to work, and I knew right away that I need a place that supports creativity and individuality to excel in the workplace.

I already addressed above that I know first-hand it is possible to be creative individually, but when considering a group setting I also believe creativity is achievable – but in the right context. For my Pricing Channels class, we discussed the idea that cross-functional teams (CFTs) are highly valuable to firms. I agreed with the statement, but added stipulations that CFTs are really only valuable when all team members are communicative, collaborative and respectful of the process and project at hand. If a firm does a poor job of putting a team together, silos and inefficiencies are created that make any business opportunity more challenging and sometimes impossible to conquer. Therefore, creativity can only be produced with the right mindset and right context. 

 

I struggle sometimes when trying to identify which creative process or framework to apply in some situations. Maybe this is because I’ve been taught both in school and in the workplace that there is a framework for virtually everything, so sifting through the many models and approaches is a daunting exercise. However, I usually always tend to resort to my gut instinct on how best to approach a creative solution. I’m not sure if I could explain or teach this intuition if I had a class of my own one day about this subject, but I hope that I can always be a great value-add to a team, organization, personal relationship and situation given my passion and desire towards creativity and innovation. If I could, I would start my own Indian dance studio and attend fashion school to eventually start my own fashion line because those to me are my passions – the center of this passion is free-flowing creativity that excites me more than anything else in this world!