Somewhere, sometime, some company is going to figure out the right formula for Internet advertising. The right formula means the right amount of control for Internet users, and a very clear, mutual understanding between the company and the user. The user agrees to view advertising in exchange for content. The company provides content and advertising that is most likely to interest the user. This has always been the promise of advertising on the Internet. However, the mutual understanding and trust is still a long way off. Users like me have almost no trust in Internet-based businesses. Other users are way too trusting and get burned. [Stop! Look before you click - news.com] This mutual understanding and trust -- the right balance -- will only be achieved through a process of trial and error, constant refinement of business practices, and user learning experiences. In short, it will evolve over time.
It seems there are still too many companies that are willing to prey upon their naive users. This is understandable among the lesser known companies. The better known companies should show more restraint. Building trust with your customer base takes time. Losing that trust can happen overnight. Yahoo comes to mind, with their decision to change the marketing preferrences of all their registered users.
When I renewed my membership with the IEEE, that organization encouraged me to allow direct mailing from advertisers. They were very honest about the deal: advertisers pay the IEEE in order to send out direct mailings, and that pay helps to keep the membership dues low. I decided to opt in, giving the IEEE permission to provide my address to advertisers, because I like low dues. As an added benefit, I knew the advertising would be about engineering products or services, not furniture sales or personal hygeine products.
When Internet-based businesses develop real trust with users, I imagine that relationships will arise that are similar to my relationship with the IEEE. Namely, that the company will lay out the proposition in clear terms, and the user will weigh the terms and decide to accept or decline. It may take a decade -- who knows -- but someday we will get there.
Posted by Doug Sauder at April 22, 2002 09:32 AM