When it comes to understanding beacon technology and technology in general David McGowan, MD of mobile agency Nomad, believes people are becoming both exponentially informed and stupid at the same time.
Both the outrage over the Facebook messenger app and an installation of beacons in the US done by an outdoor media company without a proper permit, highlights McGowan's point that the issue doesn’t lie with the technology itself, rather the fact that the wider population don't understand how the technology works.
“People are engaged in the top line glossy details of the tech but are lacking the understanding of what it actually means to their privacy and liberties,” McGowan told AdNews.
“The recent Facebook app update had everyone from my colleagues to my mum posting that Facebook was going to be violating our privacy by accessing your personal photos, your location, and your contacts,” he said. “People made a subconscious decision to choose the freak out sensational story over the logic that this is what apps do – how else can you upload a photo, check into a location or connect with friends?”
Earlier this month Buzzfeed in the US revealed that Titan, a company that sells ad space in more than 5,000 panels in phone kiosks around the five boroughs of New York had installed 500 beacons in public phone booths.
Buzzfeed in its article said the rise of beacon technology could cause any city to turn into, “a giant matrix of hidden commercialisation — and vastly deepen the network of surveillance that has already grown out of technologies ranging from security cameras to cell phone towers.”
While Ben Howden, strategy director at Inlight Media doesn't agree with how Buzzfeed is painting how beacons can be used, he told AdNews that the main issue lies in the fact that the installation was on public property.
“It was utilising public property that was the issue, because you're utilising the public property to deploy the actual beacons, which is obviously a bit of an issue when you don't actually own the property,” Howden said.
Of this example McGowan, highlighted that “Unless you’ve opted into a specific service, beacons tracking data around them don’t know who you are,” he said.
“They just detect that there’s something there, a data point. It’s the same as vehicle traffic monitoring on roads or number counting at turnstiles.”
Erik Hallander, mobile and innovation director at Isobar said the issue of privacy is one that has been topical of late and it is likely that doing a campaign that uses beacon, geo-fencing, or even geo-location could cause backlash if done poorly by brands.
“You could probably expect a similar type of backlash here in Australia if you didn't do it properly, these things where there is an element of tracking or any element of monitoring checking people's location.” Hallander said.
Hallander said the only way to avoid backlash is if brands are extremely transparent.
“If a brand is using beacons, geo-fencing or geo-location where the benefit lies solely with the brand, there is going to be a backlash – because people generally get a little bit up in arms about the fact they feel like they're being tracked," he said. "If you can show immediate benefit and be really clear and articulate about how you are using that data, and where it is being stored, if you don't do that there is a big chance of public backlash.”
For more Beacon and technology news see below:
NewsLifeMedia gets a taste for NFC ahead of iPhone boost
PiePhone: Beacons at the footy as Four 'N Twenty goes pi-tech
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