Making It Personal: How To Profit From Personalization Without Invading Privacy
by Bruce Kasanoff
Category: Customer privacy

Everything we do and everywhere we go leaves a trail; the difference now is that it′s all being recorded, analysed, and disseminated by powerful technologies and sophisticated systems. The potential of these systems is enormous. Gathering data on behaviours and preferences allows businesses to enhance customer relationships, distribute knowledge and expertise around the world, and negotiate more effectively with suppliers, distributors, and partners. But there′s a dark side. At what point does this data mining cross the line into invasion of privacy, unethical, or even illegal, practices? What happens if proprietary information is accidentally released or gets into the wrong hands? Or when human judgment takes a back seat to computer–generated reports? In Making It Personal, business and technology expert Bruce Kasanoff explores the impact of these "personalization" technologies, and how to apply them without invading privacy. Illustrated with examples drawn from all types of organizations, Kasanoff considers the commercial, cultural, and legal implications, as individuals and businesses become increasingly interconnected. The result is not only a compelling and thought–provoking narrative, but also a practical framework from which to assess the opportunities and threats posed by personalization – and how you and your organization will respond. Making It Personal is a mission–critical briefing for anyone prepared to ask tough questions about how best to balance personalization and privacy.