This week we’ve been asked to respond to the following from our friends at Marketing Week:
Further to recent security scares on Facebook, I am writing a piece on how consumers need more awareness of online scams and how to prevent becoming a victim to cyber-crime/viruses etc.
The sort of questions I’d like addressing are:
Is it something the public is right to fear?
How can Facebook improve the situation?
What are the potential dangers of these scams?
Is it something you see EPG lobbying against for some time in the forthcoming future?
Is enough being done to protect consumers from these fears?… Etc, along these lines.
You can see the full Marketing Week article if you click here and our full response below.
I’d like to thank Joe Fernandez at Marketing Week and Anthony and Toby for their input.
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Our response:
Marcel Cowan: Director Of Cowan Group & Chairman of the IAB’s ‘E-Communication Council’
Facebook can be a powerful medium for Brands but they must realise consumers are getting more savvy and sceptical about what they download (rightly so)- when downloading applications make sure you trust the brands – try not to have hundreds of applications, just pick a few that are meaningful to you.
In turn Brands now realise the potential to talk to consumers through social media and there is a new onus on them to be trustworthy, and ethical about the data being captured.
Of course, in an increasingly mobile and technology driven world, social interaction and sharing of information is becoming an important aspect of how we live and communicate. There has been much positivity to be gained from such engagement – one only has to look at how politicians such as Barack Obama have used Facebook or even the group on facebook that managed to get enough members to prevent the Wispa leaving the shelves of our newsagents.
As this media is gathering pace and still relatively new – the process needs to be investigated further to make sure legislation is protecting consumers not just creating a wall.
The balance is to protect the consumer whilst still allowing relevant information to get through. We don’t want to get to a stage where communication is hindered too much. Imagine if charities and health agencies could not get their message across and even brands who are creating smart and relevant messages.
The problem is, as with the internet itself, there is a lot of noise.
Companies have rushed to develop applications that don’t add real value.
Companies should take note of the fears surrounding social media and make sure they use it in the right way, to be part of the conversation with the consumer and not just talk at them.
The dangers are much the same with Phishing scams, if you give too much information to an un-trusted source the information can be used in a negative way. Unfortunately Facebook accounts that are hacked can then communicate with all your friends and even potentially access related portals such as your hotmail, yahoo or gmail account.
Part of the work lobbying groups (as well as brands and indeed Facebook themselves) can do is to educate users more – let them know how an application works i.e. it may track your information, or use it to communicate offers and events to you. Brands should not fear this if they have nothing to hide. If they have something that will add value to consumers then the consumer should be happy to allow a certain level of communication. The result of this may mean that users download less applications but ones that provide them with more value.
Based on personal experience, I know that the uptake of kids on facebook has grown and therefore they are easy pickings.
Heaven knows what kids are putting on regarding private details – Children should be educated in best practice as early as possible, I would like to see Social Networks and brands be more pro-active with this as well as parents of course!
It also comes down to common sense and understanding how to use the privacy/security functions in the social networks – Facebook’s are actually pretty good, they are simply difficult to find and understand how to use.
I haven’t joined a SN for a while, but setting security settings should be made part of the registration process, if they aren’t already.
As with internet banking and shopping there must be a responsibility with the consumer to protect themselves. Don’t have the same password and login for everything you use, be careful where you distribute it and cautious which sites you visit and applications you download and which privacy settings you enable. Facebook have just launched a ‘Verification tool’ which will allow consumers to check validity of application for download – it will also now provide a platform where companies can apply for verification before publishing. IF IN DOUBT STEAR CLEAR!
