Between breaches in security and other scandals, Facebook, one of the most popular social networks, after all, keeps making big efforts to maintain its status on the collective user psyque without losing trust, although it might be a little too late for that. A couple of days ago, after filtering the data of millions of users, Zuckerberg’s platform announced the launch of Portal, a new smart device modeled after Alexa, but with the plus of video calls (basically, Amazon Echo) and to consume content directly from Facebook Watch.
Novelty or data collecting?
The new device’s premise is to keep the people we love closer to us, which is basically the premise of all social networks, however this new marketing hyper-connected smart screen, Facebook promises a little more than video calling with our loved ones, and it’s precisely that what has made analysts and untrusting professionals pay closer attention.
As an app that runs from Facebook Messenger, supposedly, compiled data and security should not be changed, but from Facebook’s own newsroom, data will not be compiled once the device is deactivated, however, it will use allthe data we share with our loved ones to improve ad targeting when we browse the platform.
Facebook has been an ally to publishers for quite some time, thanks to the raw quantity and precision of data in compiles, however to give us a sensation of security with this device, they offer a little camera lid, that we can use at the end of our calls so no other information from our surroundings might be shared by “mistake” (not very promising if we take into account the device is made to follow us around) and a controller to deactivate the microphone and a password so that only we can have access to it, characteristics that sound more than familiar to the 50 million users whose accounts were hacked a month ago.
Always looking at the brighter side
The truth is that for many, Facebook is a goldmine of data; without having to violate anyone’s privacy, we have access to the highest connection hours, the most interactive audience, age and even daily rituals of every internet user among other measurements that are default on any page administrator account, however the dispute keeps on, not about the massive compilation of data, but of the security and professionalism with which they manage all that data.
Giving access to Portal and other devices like Alexa, Echo, Apple Home Pod, we are openly saying “we know you can manage our data safely, while offering a change in the commodity of an intuitive home that learns from my habits” with no negative consequence. Complaining about invasive ads makes no sense after carelessly clicking “Accept” to the Terms and Conditions of any downloaded app.
For marketers, there’s no fresher terrain than the device the users have neglected, as they give away our information giving advertisers a chance to know every detail needed for the next step in strategy.
Sources
www.theverge.com
www.socialmediatoday.com
www.newsroom.fb.com