Security and Smart Phones?

The news about the I-Phone application that allows customers to pay their caramel macchiato or their cappuccino grande with skim milk has brought back the discussion about the security and the smart phones.
  
Some example about security concern it was happened in Europe one year ago when researchers discover that the “Chip and Pin” can be easily cloned. Many fraudulent transactions occurred and customer weren’t able to recover their money.

Apple argues that the I-Phone technology is secure but the "Chip and Pin" said the same at their moment. How I and You as a customer can be sure that all the security measures have been taken? Well it is very difficult to now.

As responsible consumers we need to be careful about “new” applications. We need to investigate all the possible consequences that the using of an application can carry with. Be “Smart” it is not that difficult, isn’t it?

DMCA and The Music Industry

In 1998, under the Clinton’s administration, The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) was signed. The main objective of the DMCA is to protect the copyrights of digital work.

DMCA has many supporters particularly in the entertainment and media world. The DMCA protects artist and their creations (especially in digital material). Internet has become the first medium for data transmission. One a song is circulating on the cyberspace it is almost impossible to stop it. The Motion Picture Association (MPA) estimated worldwide losses due to piracy to be US $2.2 billion in 1997 and $3.5 billion annually in 2002, 2003, and 2004.

The industry argues that there are many ways that music can be share without breaking the law. iTunes is the best example when talking about a successful case of limited access trough a digital channel. A person can download a song for a small price.

There are some world initiatives about how to prevent the music piracy for example the WIPO (World Intellectual and Property Organization) and the DMCA in USA. However there are still a lot of problems how to manage and interpret those laws. Many people can think that if I obtain music archive legally why not to share it with my friends or family? Doing a backup is legal? These are the questions that do not have an answer yet. The laws are out there but how has the answer to those questions?

Do we have any privacy?

Accordingly to the dictionary Privacy is: “the quality or condition of being secluded from the presence or view of others”. In addition online is being “under the control of a central computer, as in a manufacturing process or an experiment”. So we can deduct that Online Privacy is the condition of being secluded form the presence or view of others through the control of a central computer.

Major concerns nowadays are related with Internet, privacy issue and how the companies are stolen information from our computers with the simple excuse that they need to know, at low cost, our consumer preferences. In the past are the traditional focus groups and the products surveys to discover what we want.

US FTC (Federal Trade Commission) has issued some recommendation to regulate and prevent that some sensitive consumer information could be used by companies to discover what we want. Also, the customer will have some power to determine what information would share. However, how this is going to function it is still unclear.

A good example is how the European Union is managing this issue. A few months ago Google had some privacy issues related to some steal information through Wi–Fi networks. For the Europeans personal privacy is a basic human right and they are basing their protection laws in that. Maybe the US can take some advices from then to protect their own consumers.

Inside the mind of the consumer

For centuries psychologists have been studying or trying to study how the human brain works. They have always been been interested in what moves people to choose certain things and what moves other people to reject the same things. This was, is, and will be one of the major mysteries about the human brain.

Since the beginning of the 80s marketers have been using psychology tools to create promotional campaigns, to examine customer preferences, to evaluate the success of a new product, etc. Psychology is an essential part of every marketing study. Marketing has only one major purpose: to discover what the consumer needs and wants.     

Nowadays science and marketing are merging to create Neuromarketing. What is Neuromarketing? Neuromarketing is the use of scanning MRI machines to detect the brain's reaction to certain images. These images could vary from the release of a new product to a political campaign.

This new theory has many proponents that support that Neuromarketing can help create better products for specific sectors of the population and generate huge economic benefits to companies.

However, what about our deep feelings? Is it possible that with this information companies would start to manipulate our preferences? What about our political preferences? What about our beliefs? What about our consciousness?  Think about it!

Have a thinking day

MCB