Orwell That Ends Well!

Written June 16

The foundation of engagement marketing is built on the notion that technology will continue to give advertisers unprecedented access to consumers...along with sophisticated metrics that more accurately define those consumers.

In this regard, companies like TruMedia Technologies and Quividi have been getting a lot of press lately in reaction to their expanding portfolios of "real time" audience measurement tools. Products such as ICapture automatically capture and detect the faces of viewers who pass by billboards, bus shelters and other types of out-of-home displays.

Several weeks ago, The New York Times ran an excellent piece called Billboards That Look Back which juxtaposed the promise of these new technologies with the obvious privacy issues that they bring to the fore.

Some might scoff at those who raise concerns that we are heading towards an Orwellian society in which the government uses this advancing technology for surveillance and control of the masses. However, it wasn't too long ago that a number of the major telecoms worked with the National Security Agency on warrantless wiretaps of U.S. citizens.

I think the fascinating question behind this debate is this: how passive will consumers be in the face of increased treading into their personal space. Orwell's premise for "1984" was about the passivity (and ultimately, ignorance) of the masses. But I might argue that technology is rendering passivity as a thing of the past. Blogs are allowing people to become actively involved in the public discourse, hopefully keeping government in check and preventing an Orwellian future.

Perhaps Steven Jobs and Chiat-Day were right when they closed the iconic TV commercial 1984 with the tag-line "And you'll see why 1984 won't be like 1984."

Are you concerned about an Orwellian future?