Data & Faustian Behaviour


I’ll never get tired of saying this - writing is tough but getting into the mood to write is tougher, and what to write is toughest. Today, after a long time, I’ve decided to address the tough, tougher, and toughest.


I’ve been working on a lot of data related stuff the past few months. I can safely assume basis the data analysis, that Mr. X from Company A is interested in Product/Solution M & N. Also, looking at the frequency, recency, and additional time spent on the website, I think Mr. X from Company A is looking to buy this or similar solution at the earliest. Superimpose this data with data from other sources, I can closely guess his potential budget, the competitors he is reviewing, etc.


This made me wonder, why do people like Mr. X (and I too) leave our digital footprint around, some times unknowingly but mostly knowingly.  I keep coming across tons of articles about data privacy and how easily we share personal data or how easily there is inter-portability of personal data (social plug-ins, autofill/ save passwords on devices, etc). In fact, for downloading many articles and reports, I shared my details without any/much thoughts. I began to wonder, why does even an ‘evolved’ digital marketing professional like me, keep sharing my personal data around, without second thoughts on how the data I shared will be used in the future. 


Neither will I get into the rights and wrongs about data privacy, nor the merits and de-merits of solutions to tackle it. My thought is about why do we do it and what has got us into this habit loop? In search of meaning, I saw a lot of similarity between the answer I was seeking and the play - Dr. Faustus by Christopher Marlowe.


The storyline goes as such, Dr. Faustus makes a pact with the devil for unlimited knowledge and world pleasures, along with services of Mephistopheles for 24 years in exchange for his soul.

With this incredible power, Dr. Faustus goes travelling and performing feats. During the 24 years period, many times he had second thoughts, but the Devil would convince him by bestowing more riches. In the end, he knew, he was condemned for eternity in Hell, but did not have any escape.


Many of our dealings in the digital space are faustian bargains. Marketers and digital companies do not ask us for our souls, but information - who we are, where we are, what we are doing, what we want, etc. We give out our details (in form of data) for more knowledge (newsletters, download white papers, reports, etc), pleasure (login to a game with social IDs, emails), convenience (places of interest near me, what to buy, what to watch), or even chance of riches (submit your details and a chance to win kind of sweepstakes).  Even in case one would want to come out - there is the fear or greed of missing out something bigger and better.


Couple of human truths are - Our brains don’t like to exert themselves and our brains are wired for scarcity. This leads to couple of common human behaviours - Laziness and Greed. And when it comes to taking our personal information, marketers mostly play on these 2 behaviours… Example: It is like a Newsletter subscription message conveying, Hey! Give me your email address and let us know what you like and I shall send you exclusive and relevant newsletter every week.


Thus, each time, there is a cue of either information, greed, or convenience, we get into the routine of sharing our personal information and get the reward of satiating our need/desire.


The only way to break the routine is to work on our mental laziness and greed

Next time we see anything where we need to be sharing our personal information, remember, it also is saying,  ‘Homo, fuge!’

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