Social Media and Elections – A Reflection

It’s been a little more than 6 months since news broke that (allegedly) Russian backed online hacktivists targeted US voters across several social networks, including Facebook, Twitter, and Google’s YouTube.  [You can read the comprehensive timeline here, which traces these types of activities back to a Ukrainian election in 2014.]  By current accounts, the total…

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Protecting Your Home From Wildfires and Floods – A Public Service Announcement

Growing up in Southern California, my family has experienced its fair share of floods and fires.  My grandfather and great-grandfather first build their beach-side summer home in the 1920’s.  During WWII this home burned down, and when my grandfather moved back in the 70’s to rebuild a retirement home, he did so with the intent…

New Jersey Uses An Algorithm To Eliminate Bias In Criminal Bail System

Faced with jail overcrowding at a near epidemic proportion, earlier this year New Jersey recently overhauled how it determines bail eligibility for persons awaiting trial.  Now, using an algorithm that weighs the risk of a person to “skip bail”, New Jersey has reformed their system bail system – removing cash from the equation.  A person…

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What Do The New Communication Privacy Rules Mean To You?

A lot is being made about the recent moves to unwind the FCC privacy rules, which made it difficult for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to share consumer web and app behavior data without permission. Data collection and sharing comes down to Notice & Choice.  Was the consumer aware that you were collecting data, did they…

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The Rise of the Chief Privacy Officer

Your company’s responsibility as a steward of consumer data is greater than ever. Advances in technology have made it extremely easy to access and collect sensitive consumer data from disparate first, second, and third party sources, analyze that data, and then use that data to build sophisticated consumer profiles which could impact how you engage with…

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Wired Crowns Alexa the Winner

CES is over, and in this article Wired Magazine has crowned Alexa “the winner”. There are now over 7,000 Alexa-enabled devices, from cars to speakers to appliances and TVs.  By offering an open platform for the development of Alexa-enabled devices, Amazon is getting tremendous market penetration and exponentially increasing the amount of consumer insights data…

SAP Announces New DSP / DMP : Exchange Media

SAP announced Exchange Media, adding another DSP / DMP to an already crowded ad-tech ecosystem. Advertisers are increasingly demanding transparency in their advertising, from where and how ad dollars are spent to the true impact and ROI of those advertising dollars.  Adtech providers can either give advertisers what they want or watch as advertisers bring those solutions “in house”….