Dear FTC. Give Amazon rights to user data and solve the privacy and hacker problems that plague America!

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[Update:] Maybe some people have misunderstood what I’m getting at, so I decided to spell out some of the main points below:

1. Amazon’s Silk browser uses their cloud to put together a web page and deliver an optimized version for a device. The device does not communicate with other data centers, only with Amazon’s EC2 cloud (unless disabled).

2. Although marketed as an optimizer, aggregating and optimizing web pages puts Amazon in a position to protect web users from hackers and nefarious marketers. If used as the sole access to the internet, Amazon can more easily protect user data than any other source (including anti-virus tools).

3. My guess is other companies are already working on a similar cloud optimizer. I would not be surprised to see Google, Microsoft, Apple, and IBM (partnered with Firefox?) release their own aggregator/optimizer.

4. I suggest to the FTC that rather than policing user data, allow the aggregators to gather it, protect it, and sell it to marketing firms.

5. I theorize that when an aggregator abuses user data, it is best to let the free market choose how their data is used by moving to a different aggregation source.

6. All of our problems solved (I know just a tad bit too simple). Enjoy my blog post.

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Looks like Facebook has agreed to be audited by the FTC for the next 20 years. Sounds like the FTC may have a hard time even finding a company to audit how they are using the data they collect. Facebook has been accused of tracking users across multiple sites and selling/using that data with advertisers. This really cracks me up! I remember sitting in a conference room with David Humphries when I worked at Omniture discussing how we could do similar tracking. I was the technical resource for the Business Development group at the time. Of course, it was all about cookie sharing across multiple clients and creating an industry-wide standard for data collection. After seeing 3^rd party “social plugins” offered by Facebook on cnn.com and other sites, it was obvious how they could use that to track users across the internet and use that data for hyper-focused advertising or, as I like to call it, “Marketers Gold”.

FTC Sheriff of User Data

Now, Dear FTC. Please, please stop wasting your money. Please don’t send out sheriffs to patrol the wild west of user data. It’s time to give trustworthy people ownership of the user data and— hear it is — privatize it! Let someone own it, protect it, and, yes, sell it. (Can’t we learn from the history of our own “Wild West?) Let’s face it, all the online marketing companies (and hackers) have been given a free-ride with user data. It is time for some order, and guess what, a company you are targeting for privacy concerns could end up solving all of the privacy and hacker issues that affect America and the World.

Amazon has just introduced their silk browser that uses the Amazon cloud to optimize how the web page is delivered to their browser. All requests are routed through their servers and rebuilt for optimized delivery to the silk browser. I hope you can see the potential here for Amazon to be a guardian of private data and not an abuser. All the data that gets pushed out from a user’s browser would be pushed out through Amazon, and potentially, blocked. Now, here is where you, the FTC, can parcel out the wild west of user data. Let Amazon block ALL data getting passed out and allow them to charge companies to stream user data out from their cloud. If you do this, it allows Amazon to more quickly monetize their setup as a guardian of data. And, guess what, other cloud services that aggregate data will pop up and consumers can choose which cloud they want to use to connect to the internet. These aggregators will be more adept at protecting themselves from hackers and nefarious marketers. At that point, it is just a matter of auditing the data that is passed out from the various clouds to marketing firms (and ensure the marketing firms are not hackers). User’s can choose which aggregation center protects their data better than others, creating a free market where user’s can leave one cloud for another if their own data is misused.

I believe at some point in the future this will be the prominent model of data distribution. We can fight against it, or we can embrace it and encourage it to grow. The internet has been really free and not many expect or want organization applied to it. But I’m sure that Henry Ford would never have imagined the number of laws and the order that has been applied to driving a car Today. This is coming and I’m sure if you fight against it, 20 years from now, many techies will smile and laugh and say “What was the FTC thinking!”.

Amazon Silk, the Beginning of the End for Beacon Tracking?

In one of my former posts I talked about how I fell in love with Tealeaf Technology (yes, I work for them now). There were several reasons that the CEM model of data collection and analyses appealed to me. But one thing that I felt strongly about is that the “classic” model of data collection with JavaScript and beacons will have an end. At some point some technology would disrupt the classic “request from browser/response from server” model. I felt strongly that bandwidth increases and trouble from hackers would culminate into a model where most of the processing is done on servers and the browser lightens significantly into more of a terminal than an application. If so, potentially the only choice left for measurement would be done directly on the servers themselves. This “SaaS” model for web analytics could end and morph into something else (most likely at the data center itself). I also happen to think that Tealeaf is heads and shoulders ahead of everyone else when it comes to measurement and customer analyses at the data center level.

How will Silk change everything?

Bezos with Silk Browser

Take heed, everyone is up in arms about the privacy implications of Silk. But the performance improvements and potential protection from Malware will probably win out in the end. Let’s consider the implications.

With Amazon’s Silk browser rather than requesting a web page directly from a web server, all requests are made to Amazon’s Elastic Computer Cloud (EC2). It caches content and requests content from the server housing the web page. Amazon’s EC2 will then determine the best way to serve the web page to the browser. That means the page could potentially be built on Amazon’s servers and delivered any way they see fit. That means images are less wieldy and JavaScript could be pre-built and delivered post-built. So, any 3^rd party tracking could be requested from the server and not the browser and it is up to Amazon how that data is delivered.

At first, images will most likely be cached, but as time goes on, by determining which content is dynamic and which content is static, most static content will be aggregated. Cookies may move from the browser to the server. And eventually the browser will die and just become a terminal. The request/response that builds a Document Object Model (DOM) for the page would soon morph because it is now about server to server communications. Most likely it will mean most pages start out static and use a server-to-server AJAX type request to update the requested page.

And, what is to stop the other data centers from doing the same? If this model takes off, soon all requests will be built around a terminal system and everything transfers from server to server. People will stop asking, “Which browser do you use?” and instead ask, “Which Aggregation Center do you use?”.

At this point, it means that the aggregators like Amazon will be at the center of determining which data comes in and which data goes out. 3^rd party data collectors are then dependent on these aggregators. If you are collecting web data at your own data servers, you do have access to the dynamic content sent out and hopefully some kind of request for change to static content every time the user requests the static content. Worst case scenario, Amazon and aggregators close the world to the data collection from their system due to an increased desire for privacy. Then we all move back to the data center for our data collection needs. They have every right to ensure their consumers with the statement “we are protecting your privacy, companies are still able to optimize based on data requested directly from their data centers”. It would actually be a good move for them if privacy was a real concern. Many spammers and hackers do use beacons to mark users/computers for nefarious purposes.

Anyway, I’m actually looking forward to a quicker browsing experience, with the potential of protection from hackers and maybe even an increase in privacy (depending on how Amazon wants to approach it). Go ahead Amazon, you’ll get the web tracking companies angry, but remember, they can still collect directly from the data center.

What do you think? Do you think Amazon would restrict data collection for beacon-based data-collection companies and would there be an exodus to the data center? Or do you think a company like Amazon would keep it open in the name of web optimization?

Learn from Measurement to Accelerate Innovation

At a client I was surprised by one of the concerns they have with measuring web traffic in general. Their concern is not with technology, manpower or budget, the concern is with culture. Their culture is highly innovative and creative and there are hints of resistance to web measurement. This has created concerns that web measurement will not be fully embraced. I was actually a bit surprised by this. I see measurement and innovation, done well, as the next innovation focused disruptor. One of my favorite subjects during my MBA was innovation; culture was always stressed as important for enabling innovation and implementing strategy. Of course, changing culture is akin to turning a large cruise liner. It is a large effort that takes a lot of time. The more I thought about this client, the more I could see the reasons for the resistance. Organization and innovation are polar opposites. The dark side of innovation is free movement, but utter chaos. The dark side of organization is complete organization with no movement. These two sides need each other to operate properly, but leaning to one side or the other depends on the state of the market. Anything with the web, mobile, cloud, etc. as a market needs to lean heavily to the innovative side. Otherwise, as we continue to see in this ever changing world, companies focused on organization bite the dust. My hope is that this client can stop seeing web measurement as another form of measurement and accountability, but as a tool for learning.

We’ve all heard the mantras, “You don’t know what you can’t measure”, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it”, etc. These are valid statements that are more on the organization side (needed to take advantage of innovation). They are like the brakes on a car. If you drive a car without brakes how fast are you really going to drive? But any innovative company should be concerned, if these brakes are misused; they freeze up, the car stops moving and the competition passes by. So, yes, there is a dark side to measurement. Measurement is organization, plain and simple. If measurement is used as a way to just show reports and ensure some incremental improvement to the status quo, there is reason for concern. If reports are used in this way the company is merely policing the status quo. The big question should always be, “Am I Learning Something?”. If there is no learning there is no way to challenge the status quo which is necessary for small to big innovations. If measurement is used as a learning tool, it can empower innovation and further accelerate innovation. If used as a learning tool the incremental and LARGE improvements will come because you know your market and your customers. That is what I love about Tealeaf’s set of tools. Yes, you can create some great reports and measure incremental improvements, but the most powerful piece is understanding the customer experience. This puts a real story behind the numbers and empowers innovation. Being able to drill in to individual sessions based on abandonments, voice-of-customer, time-to-complete, customer-struggle, etc. moves it from numbers on a report to a learning experience. My hope here is that eventually this company I am working with will see Tealeaf as an accelerator to innovation and not just another reporting tool. In that way, turning that cruise-liner of a culture doesn’t need to happen. Innovation can move forward accelerated with customer experience learning.

Innovative Culture and Innovative Techniques

So I have had a few questions based on my last post and I want to make some clarifications with this post. In my last post I talked about how Omniture had gone from a highly innovative culture to a more organized culture. I’m hesitant to make this post for a couple of reasons: First, because I have used Omniture as an example for what I have learned on innovation, and I don’t mean to keep pointing fingers, but I learned a lot about how corporations work through observation of their organization while I was pursuing an MBA. Second, because I feel I’m getting a little off task of the original use of my blog site, namely looking at how storing incredible amounts of data is changing the world around us.

But, since I have already digressed in my last couple of posts, I’ll continue the digression and see if I can get back on task in the future. It’s turning more into a blog on organizational behavior and innovation. And I’ll just see where that goes.

So, some of the questions I received:

1. So are you saying that a company can only be innovative if there are no processes in place?

I wasn’t saying that at all. You definitely need processes no matter what the organization. The teachings of my professors and my personal observations of the workplace point out the more you concentrate on organization or “processes” the more you are really inhibiting innovation and locking the company into stagnation. The less you focus on organization and processes the more room you have to innovate but it also creates creating chaos. Going down the dark side of organization you are frozen by the processes around you. It is extremely efficient, but only in so far as the processes allow for efficiencies. Going the other way, down the dark side of innovation, there is utter chaos. No processes are in place to manage what is done or take advantage of what is done. Of course, we don’t want to go down the dark side of either side, so normally there is a line that needs to be smartly managed. It takes a REALLY good manager to understand where the line should be placed and that normally is done by way of where the market is and any opportunities that may present themselves. If a market is just emerging, in flux or uncertain then erring towards the side of innovation and less processes is the way to go. If the market is mature with little opportunities or disruptions then erring towards the side of organization and more processes is the way to go. But erring towards organization can be very dangerous because it is a hard hole to dig out of. If disruptors were to come along, and the organization was unable to move back into innovation, then you may find yourself out of business.

Now some may debate where the market is for online analytics and digital marketing. I think we are still in the beginning stages of the market and there are MANY potential disruptors on the horizon. I happen to think that the future of digital marketing is still up in the air and the prize will go to the most innovative company of the bunch. I wasn’t saying that Omniture is not innovative; I’m saying they are less innovative because processes have been given priority (in many cases) to innovation. That doesn’t mean they can’t change. I indeed hope Adobe learns from past mistakes, finds the innovators, and treats them well. I’ll talk more about how to find the real innovators later on.

Now, I’ll talk a little about Utah culture. I hate to say it, but it’s very true and people need to realize the dangers. You see, for those of you who don’t know, Utah is a very religious state. Take a look at the LDS church and look at it as an organization. It is extremely organized with many processes! The church members love the organization and everything runs like clockwork, as it should, the market is pretty much set for religious practitioners (if you want to see it that way). The Mormons aren’t going to change or modify any of their practices and beliefs to gain market share, at least not much. Anyway, the point here is that a lot of the managers in Utah companies come from an LDS background, and they believe it is not good to question authority. Many people don’t question because it is perceived as being disloyal. One of the main tenants of innovation is to question everything, especially your boss. Also, a lot of Utah companies are successful because they employ a top-down innovation technique i.e. founder innovates and has workers carry out the vision. I think that is why we see a lot of successful start ups in Utah. People are very smart here and willing to work hard. But I also think it is a reason why we don’t have many really big companies here. Because the technique of employing bottom-up innovation is not used once the organization finds success. I honestly think that is one of the reasons Eric Schmidt sees the importance of innovation because he had to struggle through the culture at Novell. He understands that only bottom-up innovation is scalable. Top-down innovation works well at first, but once the top has success; some can be less mentally invested because they have found their millions. It’s the bottom who is mentally invested at that point to innovate, and the top has difficulty giving up that kind of control. So, yea, it’s great that the Utah culture is on the organized side, but don’t forget to nurture innovation in the workplace. I think that is an area where Utah has some issues, but like is said in the Mormon religion, work at it and weak things can become strong (weaknesses become strengths).

Another question that was asked is the following:

2. So what techniques can be used to innovate in the workplace?

This is where it gets fun. There are several things that can be done to be innovative, but all should be used together to find innovative methods.

a. Questioning

In the classes I took with Jeff Dyer the one thing that really stuck out is questioning. Relentlessly questioning the status-quo (which Utah has a tough time doing). Challenging the status quo can put things into perspective and tees up the organization for innovation. My favorite story is the one of Edwin Land. He was taking a picture of his niece with a camera, and she asked to see the picture. He explained that she couldn’t see the picture now, only later. She innocently asked “Why not?” Edwin thought to himself, “Indeed, why not?” and invented the Polaroid camera. It was an outrageous question that challenged the status quo. Without that one question we may not have had the Polaroid camera as an invention. It’s not the question itself that is innovation, it merely spurs the process. But, in most cases, questioning is the beginning of innovation.

b. Observation

Observation is an important skill for innovation and I think this is where Steve Jobs excels. He can understand the details of what the consumer wants by simply observing their behavior. I think he is extremely adept at taking mental notes of how users respond to different interfaces for their products. Rather than looking at data and requests, he understands the details of what a user is experiencing and can hone in to that experience to create some great products. Taking mental notes of how a customer reacts to a product or problem is very important to innovation. IDEO takes this to the extreme by having their designers literally “be” the product and observer the world around them to understand how the world interacts with it. Although not the only technique to innovation it is an important one.

c. Experimentation

Experimentation is not what you would expect. It is not trying experiments on your present problem; it is crossing borders to try something new. This can complicate your life and your field of work, but provides valuable insights that you can’t get in other ways. Experiment by reading up on other techniques used in other industries. Attend conferences that are different from your field of work. Keep interests up outside of your normal day-to-day routine. Explore new worlds!

d. Networking

This one kind of surprised me, but makes total sense. Find smart people in other departments and other industries and meet with them (e.g. for lunch) and discuss their present projects, ideas and problems. Explain your projects, ideas and problems and you may be surprised by some of the insight that comes from others outside your department and field of work. It is one of the reasons IDEO looks for different backgrounds for their designers. It is a way to mesh different ideas and create something innovative that has not been thought of.

e. Associations

Creating associations is extremely important in innovation and it is more of a natural ability. This is a cognitive skill that allows someone to make connections across seemingly unrelated objects. By experimenting and networking one can have a bigger store of ideas, questions and problems to create connections with. The skill of association is VERY important to innovation and is the prime reason why one should experiment and network. The associations between seemingly disparate ideas are often the core of innovation.

That bring up another question that I’ve had, and I’m sure some managers have:

3. So how do I find the innovators in my organization?

This one is actually pretty easy, but can be a little counter-intuitive. There are individuals in an organization who are mainly concerned with the company as a whole. They are interested in the technology and the customer. But these people can often be perceived as a “pain in the ass”. I’m sure you have met the worker that questioned everything around him. He questions the bosses work and where the execs were taking the company. In short he was perceived as a “pain in the ass” and is often perceived as disloyal. This is where a good manager who knows how to nurture innovation comes in. They need to determine if the worker is a “pain in the ass” or a “pain in the asset”. If they are merely a “pain in the ass” get rid of them, but if it turns out they are a “pain in the asset”, empower them and let their ideas take shape and form. Questioning is a big point to innovation. You will be surprised by what they can do because they simply question the status quo. If they also do a good job at observing, experimenting and networking be ready for some great insights. If they also excel at associations, get ready to be rich.