Privacy guru Alan Chapell calls for a national campaign to raise awareness of privacy issues.

At OMMA-West in San Francisco on June 6th, I heard Bob Garfield opine on the future of advertising. For those of you who didn’t attend Garfield's discussion, he looked 20 years into the future towards a world which, in many ways, resembles that of George Jetson's. In the era of the Jetsons, advertisers will be able to know what consumers want and when they want it. In the era of the Jetsons, advertising won’t be intrusive to consumers, and all consumer privacy issues will be adequately addressed. It will be a wonderful, Utopian society.

The only trouble is -- we’re not there yet.

If you’ll indulge me, I’d like to borrow from Garfield’s discussion and share with you some of my thoughts on how we might actually get there. As we all know, the present era of advertising is in many ways a muddled mess. And if we want to get to a place that even vaguely resembles the Utopian world of George Jetson, we need to start building the roadmap today. And that begins by engaging each other in discussion.

Talkin’ the talk

The worlds of privacy and online profiling have literally been buzzing in recent months. Much of the discussion focuses on the establishment of best practice standards for adware, online profiling and the like. I’ve been fortunate enough to have taken part in some of those discussions. And while I’m extremely optimistic about the future, I hope those discussions are viewed as a beginning rather than an end point.

Meaningful notice & consent

For example, there’s been a good deal of recent industry discussion on notice and consent in the context of downloadable software products. We certainly need definitions that we can all live with, as well as definitions that can be deciphered (let alone understood) by consumers.

I’ve often heard respected consumer advocates refer to cookies as a form of spyware. While I may not agree, I think it’s important to acknowledge that most consumers don’t have any conception of the ways their behaviors are tracked -- either online or offline. For example, the recent Annenberg Study on American Shoppers and the Ponemon Study on Adware found that many businesses are tracking consumers without their knowledge and permission.

Are privacy policies too complex? Should the “short-form” privacy policy as espoused in privacy and legal circles be adopted? I feel confident that I have AN answer for these and other questions, but I’m not sure I have THE answer. In other words, it is essential that we continue to get as many of the different constituencies as possible into a room together to discuss these issues.

Online Profiling 2.0

Once we work through some of the privacy issues, we can begin to address the other elephant in the room -- scale. There’s been a good deal of hype around behavioral targeting over the past year. I, for one, am a big fan of any tool that promises to increase relevance in advertising in a privacy neutral way. However, while I acknowledge their value, the reality is that most behavioral targeting companies are barely scratching the surface of their own potential. In order for behavioral targeting to realize that potential, it needs to reach a critical mass whereby there’s enough data to build profiles that are tailored toward specific consumer interests.

If we as an industry could begin to over-deliver on the promise of relevant messaging, do we have a shot at receiving some level of consumer buy-in? Are there ways for organizations to share profiling data in a way that does not obviate consumer privacy rights? I say yes … unless.

Consumer education

One of the most moving commercials from my childhood was the one with the American Indian Chief. The Chief was crying as he looked out on a field that had been littered with garbage. It was a powerful message for the “keep America beautiful campaign.” I can also remember campaigns that preached the prevention of forest fires, or urged people to wear seat belts. Even if these campaigns were not entirely successful (there are still way too many trash-ridden streets for this New Yorker) they absolutely created a dialog on some very important subjects.

With that in mind, I would encourage our industry to develop a national public service campaign around privacy issues. If it makes sense to educate people on seat belt use (which by the way has increased seat belt usage significantly), why not educate people on ways they can protect themselves from identity theft? If it’s a good idea to promote awareness of the v-chip, shouldn’t it also be a good idea to promote awareness of the beleaguered cookie?

Bottom line

We have an opportunity to grow our industry. Good times are coming, and together we can help turn them into better times. I would encourage everyone reading this to participate in this discussion. Even if you don’t fancy yourself a privacy person, if you are reading these words you probably have a vested interest in the interactive space. There are many challenges ahead of us, and we need all the help we can get. We have an opportunity to grow our industry. I’ve sketched out my thoughts. I’d love to hear yours.

Alan Chapell, CIPP, is president of Chapell & Associates, a consulting firm that advises ad serving, online profiling, and downloaded executable software companies on issues of consumer privacy. He has been in the interactive space for more than 8 years with firms such as Jupiter Research, DoubleClick and Cheetahmail. Mr. Chapell is the New York chapter co-chair of the International Association of Privacy Professionals, and publishes a daily blog  issues of consumer privacy.