Come on, is Google Street View really Big Brother in disguise?

I just can't believe all the negative news on the launch of Google’s Street View in the UK – people are labelling it an infringement on data protection, among other more sinister sounding phrases such as “invasion of privacy”.

It’s a bit like the ominous stories we read about in the press whenever they want to have a go at our industry – us with all the creepy information we have on UK households like: they have a car or they buy from mail order companies. Eeek shriek, what a terrible danger!

Then the same people that are sounding the alarm about even the most mundane data being kept complain about the irrelevant direct mail and other marketing communications they receive – but not conceding that you can’t target properly without data. Now they’re worried about some street scenes on the internet.

Isn’t it amazing that in a society that has more eavesdropping devices than anywhere else in the world, where you can be filmed making your daily journey to and from work, extracting cash from a hole in the wall, shopping in your local supermarket and speeding (or not) along the highways of England, we worry about geeky internet sites such as these.

Come on, what’s the problem? We have a government that watches our every move, records every time we take a plane abroad, stores our medical records – yeah, and loses them from time to time too. So why worry about Google Street View? It’s as innocent as we are, but maybe just a little more fun.

Why not leave data security to the DM industry experts

Information Commissioner Richard Thomas is at it again pushing the data security button, raising concerns about how both government and business are handling personal records. This time he highlighted the issue at the recent DMA conference where he said there have been more than 400 breaches in data security since late 2007.

This comes on the heels of the commissioner putting the commercial sector under the spotlight in a report last month – and he clearly wants more teeth for dealing with private companies. But is that what’s really needed?

I’m sorry but let’s face it, the data transgressions of any private organisations still pale in comparison to what we have seen the public sector: HM Revenue & Customs loses personal details on 25 million people, British Council loses personal details on 2,000 employees, Government loses 12 million personal details in pub car park, 25 million child benefit records lost, 7,000 Northern Ireland drivers details, MOD has 658 laptops stolen in just four years, three million drivers details lost from the UK in Iowa in the US, and so it goes on.

So if I seem wary about any public officials criticising the private handling of data, forgive me. But if I get one more piece of bureaucratic claptrap or red tape ruling from some idiotic government related burke sitting in some high rise office in London informing me of yet another guideline or instruction that I should follow in order to maintain ‘data security’ I will blow a bloody gasket.

I have a better idea: why don’t we as an industry offer to train Government officials in terms of security? After all, the DM and data industry is still by far the most successful sector at policing the movement of data.

And if I read one more time that Government is outsourcing its data requirements to places as far flung as Iowa, Bombay or the Philippines I will throw myself against a brick wall. HELLO?! We are here in the UK and we are data specialists, so call me for a quote pleeeeeeeeze. Is it just me, or do others out there feel the same?

Enough about Woolworths already – Rosebys shows there’s hope

I was shopping at Rosebys the other day – I go there for their excellent bargains in bedding, if you must know – and was surprised to see them still open weeks after holding a closing down sale.

Rosebys was just another in a long list of recession closures that the press are so quick to jump on for a cheap news item. What wonderful news then that a buyer was found for over 40 per cent of the stores, securing hundreds of jobs and with a promise to open eight new stores in the next couple of months. Where did I read that? I didn’t. I asked a member of the store staff why they were still open and with an enormous smile on his face he told me the fantastic news. Nothing in the press though.

Asda is opening new stores and creating up to 2,000 new jobs – did you hear about that one? No, probably not. I heard it on a small radio slot and, you know what, the list goes on. All we seem to hear among other stories is the fact that Woolworths has closed all its stores. Hello?! They have been closing their stores for the last five years after burning all their assets – media, media, media please don’t add it as kindling on the ‘recession fire’.

In the DM and data world, we hear a lot about how bad things are too – the same sort of doom and gloom preaching, plus complaints about decreasing marketing budgets.

Well, I’m seeing as many, if not more, opportunities out there as marketers are spending wisely and looking at longer-term data solutions. We are certainly pitching for more long-term contracts than ever. If people want to listen, bow their heads and wait for better times, be my guest – I’m happy to keep pitching and take the new business. And I’m sure I’m not the only one…