The Social Prof, Social Media Marketing Blog

Risk and Ethics in Social Media

9/25/2017

On the Gatorade Website, https://www.gatorade.com/about-our-ads at the bottom of the page there is a link to “About Our Ads”. Gatorade exposes how they get their customer information by tracking then advertising to consumers. Most companies are tracking anyone who visits a website with cookies, then selling information and email lists. These actions are legal, but are they ethical? How about how Gatorade? They discuss their process in detail. Does this make it more Ethical?

In 2014, USA Today published an article titled “Social Media Research Raises Privacy and Ethics Issues”.
Discussing how social media and Facebook in general are behavioral laboratories with endless sources of information on consumers. Most of the information is free or companies are paying third parties to collect the information for them. For Example, Gatorade states specifically in their website, “We work with third parties who help gather this information. These third parties might link your name or email address to other information they collect. That might include past purchases made offline or online. Or, it might include online usage information”.

There are many ethical issues to think about in Social Media. Content should be well thought out, and taken under careful consideration. The PSRA, Public Relations Research Association has a nice guide for Social Media Ethics.

Where else can you read and update yourself on Ethics and/or risk in Social Media?

75 Comments

Glenn Kindel link

9/28/2017 12:13:07 pm

This blog post asks several questions regarding the ethical nature of companies using digital information they collect from users. Simply put, there is nothing unethical about using digital information the is collected from individuals that visit a website. There are two main reasons, First, companies are very candid about their use of digital information. Second, consumers have access to settings on their browsers that can restrict companies' ability to use private digital information.

Companies have been using digital information gathered from their customers for years. The use of such data helps them and others to pinpoint marketing and anticipate consumers' needs. All credible companies post their privacy policy on their website, much like Gatorade does on their "About our Ads" link on their site. To be clear, the posting of such privacy policies is what drives the ethical nature of what they are doing. Failure of a company to explain its policy, therefore, would be unethical.

Every browser has privacy settings. They also have ways to clear cookies and delete browser history. A simple Google search asking how to prevent cookies on your your specific browser will help to reduce such activity. The disadvantage to doing this is that it may reduce what you are able to see on websites.

There are countless blogs and websites that contain information on both legal and ethical behavior in social media marketing. For example, the American Bar Association has a terrific article on the topic.
https://www.americanbar.org/publications/blt/2014/01/03a_claypoole.html
One can keep up-to-date on Social Media Marketing by reviewing similar credible sites regularly.

Rachel C.

10/8/2017 01:35:38 pm

I feel that the biggest concern is not many people are aware of this. Even though websites offer information on their research most people do not bother to read or even look at it. Then when they do become aware they argue that they never knew this was going on. I feel that it unsettles people to know that their internet activity is being tracked with or with out their knowledge. Also I feel that it is unfair when some one ops out of internet tracking that certain things can be withheld from them.

Juan Carlos Gamarra

10/12/2017 07:46:54 am

I consider the "American Bar Association" to be an authoritative source as well as good starting point to any legal-related topics due to the breadth of resources and references offered. In particular, I found this article to be very informative as it provided a comprehensive review of action undertaken by States to deal with this rather complicated issue.
In regards to your comment, while I agree in that users have to be proactive and install add-ons and plug-ins to protect their privacy, I do think that there should be more regulation in regards to how companies use data collected by web visitors. After all, in case of a data breach much more information than you would think can be acquired by hackers or unauthorized third parties (I.e. Yahoo, Equifax hacks) with the source company not being liable.

Tara Sprankel

9/29/2017 11:33:24 am

I think if there is an option to opt out of being tracked, that is made widely known, such as the “Do Not Call” opt out for telemarketing, and as long as it remains legal, there is nothing unethical about tracking user data. Selling user data on the other hand is wrong, in my opinion, as the user has no control over who purchases the information. I guess if you can opt out of that as well, then you do have a choice, but a user who chooses to look up Gatorade is not choosing to give their information to Gatorade’s “partners”.
If a smaller company were to pay a larger corporation, like Google, to conduct a certain analysis, without disclosing specific user data, that is not really any different than paying a marketing company to conduct market research. The little guys would otherwise never have access to the vast amount of information the large companies do.
I think the fact that Gatorade discloses the tracking very openly helps, but you still have to dig for the information. It’s not scrolling across the website as soon as you open it.
I also think the lawmakers need to get off their haunches and catch up with the technology at hand. That, however, brings up another ethical dilemma regarding government tracking of internet usage data. Perhaps there is a purposeful lag in the legislative branch. If there are no rules for anyone, then the government is not breaking them either.
I located and article on Realtormag.realtor.org titled 5 Risks of Social Media. While this article is aimed at the Real estate professional, it covers matters that apply to all social media use, such as Defamation and libel, Copyright infringement and Trademark infringement.
I found that Realtormag.realtor.org has quite a few links to other articles on this topic. I would stay informed by reading those and I am sure many of the blogs on the Top Ten list from the prior assignment would address ethics issues as well.

Candice

10/1/2017 10:09:34 am

So I would like to know what really works as an opt out of being tracked by anyone? Similar to 'do not call' list, but maybe better because do not call doesn't work. I place every number I have on this list and I am still bombarded with robocalls daily and I need my cell phone to work. As far as browsing goes, I may look up something about atheism or homosexuality for research purposes and get some very disturbing unwanted ads that make me uncomfortable. The reason it makes me uncomfortable is it will come to my direct address in the form of a book I didn't ask for, or an unsolicited text from a stranger. There is a child in my home. Either way, this goes from being a privacy issue to a safety issue. I agree with you that the government is very slow at regulating how this info can be used but it can get complicated. However, if the government officials are the ones having their personal information displayed all over the place, they might work a little harder at creating more current laws.

Nathan Lee

10/1/2017 01:53:41 pm

I love the idea of having a "Do Not Call" opt out for anyone that doesn't want their information tracked. If the company is in fact only collecting it for their site or sister sites, then I do believe it is ethical behavior. Companies ask for surveys and any information all the time to help streamline the customer experience. You make a great point about who these companies are selling your information to. There lies my biggest concern. Is Gatoraide not responsible for your information once they sell it? What happens if the next company decides to sell that info and their security doesn't have the same regulations as Gatoraide? These are some of the main questions that wen through my head after reading this Blog.

Shannon Kawczynski

10/8/2017 06:30:48 pm

I question if the opt out option would even work, because they can contact you over different information. I believe there would be loop holes it the "Do Not Call' or to opt out. Even if we did have a choice would that stop them from selling our data? Evan though your profile on Facebook is private doesn't mean they can't track your actions online.

Quinzena Black

9/30/2017 01:21:54 pm

Although the actions are legal and that they notify you what they are doing, I personally don’t think that these actions are ethical. This is one of the reasons why our identities can easily be stolen. When someone goes to a website they are not going to be looking for anything that states that their private information will be shared, they go on the website to buy what they went on the site to buy and that’s it. I have noticed that when I do go to certain websites to purchase items and then I go on Facebook, the store that I had recently visited is advertising about a product that I just bought. Every website is doing it we just don’t know that they are. This is one of the challenges that we must endure with the price of using the internet. I don’t like that my information is being given to a third party and when I get the emails from those other companies I either unsubscribe or block them completely. When I do start to advertise more through social media I will not sell my customers information to any other company. They are buying from me and I want them to be able to know that their information will not be shared with a third party and that will be posted on my website. I found an interesting article by corporate compliance insights titled, “Managing the workplace ethics of social media”, which I found to be very interesting. This is a good article to read for anyone that will have a business one day.
http://www.corporatecomplianceinsights.com/managing-the-workplace-ethics-of-social-media/

Glenn Kindel

10/1/2017 12:23:42 pm

Although I respect and understand your stance that tracking and selling information is unethical, I am not comfortable making the jump to identity theft, at least as it is most commonly known. In order for a company to be able to accept money over the internet, they must be PCI compliant, which requires them to not share or even keep the type of information that can be used for identity theft.

I do appreciate the fact that you are taking a stand and committing to not selling customer information. That commitment can probably be used in your own marketing to show your customers how much you respect their privacy.

Yuliya Hryniv

10/4/2017 08:19:29 am

Hi, Quinzena. I agree with you that not always everything that is legal is ethical. Many people are not aware that their private information is being collected on the websites that they visit. I’ve also noticed that many online stores track their customers across multiple websites, with their advertisement and images of the products that consumers just viewed. I understand that it is a part of their advertisement but many times it’s just getting annoying.

Shannon Kawczynski

10/8/2017 06:38:24 pm

I agree with the fact that these legal actions are unethical, but I would say that it's theft. When purchasing or putting any of your information on a website, a secure website will tell you who they a secured through. There are ways around making sure that type of information is secured. Even though what ever you were looking to purchase Facebook or other website will know and advertise to you. I also block the advertising emails and mark as spam in hopes of not to receive them anymore.

Tashana Winfrey

10/10/2017 07:20:29 am

I agree, I do not personally think its ethical or moral to ad track. But this is something that's completely legal. It is done all the time without people noticing.

Joe Hojnacki

10/1/2017 09:40:36 am

Gatorade using legal actions to use your information might be considered unethical to some people. A lot of people that use the internet are not aware that they are subject to digital tracking by companies. Because this is legal, most businesses will use people's information. This helps with advertising for that business. Gatorade uses technology to help gain a better understanding of the market, and what its consumers want. Some people say this is unethical because it violates a persons privacy. The fact is, it's legal to do so. Gatorade even lets you know at the bottom of the page where to put your information for a do not contact list.
If I had to run my own business, I would have to keep up with ethical issues. Now a days, ethical issues can cause a business to fail if they don't respond in the right way. If customers don't think you care, then they will stop doing business with you. Having a staff that would be dedicated to not only ethical issues, but environmental issues would wise. Always keeping up with current issues and being able to address them quickly and with the help of social media.
http://www.corporatecomplianceinsights.com/managing-the-workplace-ethics-of-social-media/
This link provides additional information about ethics in social media. This article talks about employees and the misuse of company time using social media. Being distracted by social media at work will lead to a decrease in productivity which means a loss of money for the company. The article also gives a layout for establishing risk assessments, policies, and procedures on how to deal with social media.

Yuliy Hryniv

10/4/2017 08:18:45 am

Hi, Joe. I agree with you that many people do not realize that they are being digitally tracked by the companies. It does help the company to advertise their products or services and reach their potential customers. However, I think it should be people’s choice to decide with who to share their private information. In my opinion they have to ask a permission before collecting customer’s information.

Matt Hitch

10/8/2017 08:59:56 pm

I enjoyed taking a look at the website you posted. Many people are distracted because of social media while they are at work. I know I'm one of them.
You're right that it is legal, but is it the right thing to do when people don't necessarily know its being done to them? I also agree that it would be wise to have a staff committed to the ethical and environmental issues. Great point.

Tashana Winfrey

10/10/2017 07:17:16 am

I agree with Matt. The website you posted was very interesting. It is legal, and I don't think companies care if it is morally right or not.

CANDICE

10/1/2017 09:53:28 am

First of all, just because something is legal doesn't make it ethical, those are two different things. I honestly don't believe any of this data is used properly, deeming it a waste of time for whoever is purchasing it. Most of the time, I receive advertisements for products I bought already, I don't normally need a reminder to buy something I need, or to go to a site that I frequently go to already. Social Media is a place I'd rather not frequent because of privacy and safety issues. As the USA Today article states, there are many other people like me that feel the same way. None of these things come as a surprise to me, but I still believe if a site is expected to be looked at as trustworthy and legitimate, it should adopt a sound privacy policy and fully disclose on their site what they do with your information, as Gatorade did. I think this was a good move for them, it seems straightforward and transparent and easy to understand, which is rare. No one really reads the incredibly fine print or extremely long agreements posted on most websites, and for that reason, people have no idea what is happening to their info. This is why blogs who plainly state "I do not share your information" are more likely to get a visit from me than some of the larger companies. I am also impressed that Gatorade sent a link to a site called Digital Advertising Alliance where you can explore opt-out choices. Definitely something I've never seen, and may use in the future.

Glenn Kindel

10/1/2017 12:33:28 pm

Your point about companies targeting you with ads for things you already bought is spot on. I heard a report on NPR this weekend that companies who target customers with ads over and over again create a situation where the customers become annoyed by the ads. This especially happens when companies target people who are already loyal customers. The customer starts to feel like the business is constantly in their face, to the point where the customers will actually stop doing business with them.

What many people don't realize is that your browser (IE, Chrome, Firefox) put wording in their user agreement that allows them to do this type of research. When you agree to use their browser, you are agreeing to them using your usage data. You even agree to them selling it. So, even if individual businesses stop selling this information, the large IT organizations will continue to do it.

Arlene Hamilton

10/1/2017 04:38:48 pm

Hi Candice. I see where you are coming from with your comments and you pointed out that most blogs that state they do not share your information......do you think that is really true? I would like to think that it is, but it's the Internet.......Just a thought.

Stephanie Russell

10/4/2017 09:15:53 am

I absolutely agree with you on the fact that most people do not read the fine print and realize what may happen to their personal information. I, like yourself receive a lot of similiar advertisements for items I have already purchased and find it highly annoying and also a waste of time on both sides. I think most websites have a liability buffer in their so when you figure out they have shared your information, it's out of their hands because you continued on with your purchase "acknowledging the agreement" whether you really did or not. These acts are usually legal but ethical, I don't believe so. Maybe from their standpoint but as a consumer and business owner I think I also would look for blogs that plainly state "I do not share your information" as well. I guess the next question is "how would you handle a scenario where you absolutely had to use a site that requires you to accept their terms and let your information be released?"

Brett Boardwine

10/1/2017 10:22:36 am

I believe that Gatorade made the best decision by fully disclosing their process. Many individuals feel like their privacy has been violated the they learn that companies/third parties are collecting their online information in order to market to them and sell them products. They become especially sensitive when they learn third parties are gathering then selling the information.

Personally, I don't view this as completely unethical behavior. The nature of marketing and consumer research is changing rapidly as technology continues to change our culture. Companies have been undergoing some form of these practices for years in order to learn about their target market and continue to compete to the best of their ability.

I think that, in large, those who view these practices as unethical are those who feel betrayed by not knowing this was being done with their information or that their privacy is being violated. They seem to perceive that these companies are trying to manipulate them or behave maliciously. In reality this is just how marketing and market research has changed.

Companies can ease these feelings by being transparent about their practices like Gatorade is. If individuals truly feel so adverse to their information being gathered for marketing purposes, they should learn about how this technology works. Browser settings can easily be changed to limit the information one provides online. Also, by simply researching and understanding how such data gathering works, one can prevent their information from becoming part of such databases.

Brett

10/1/2017 10:29:37 am

See: https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidvinjamuri/2011/11/03/ethics-and-the-5-deadly-sins-of-social-media/#47cbfcc13e1f

Nathan Lee

10/1/2017 01:47:23 pm

After reading this Blog my initial thought was about how a lot of the third party tracking systems felt very unethical. It's the part fear of the unknown information they were collecting and part not being informed first about what was happening. I think you make some excellent points on how the marketing culture has evolved and changed over the years. In our streamlined economy, our growing information has to come from somewhere, but the sensitive information always needs to be handled with care.

Andrew T.

10/1/2017 12:00:46 pm

While the prospect of social media marketing as being the end all to other marketing techniques. There are many risks and ethical considerations. Gatorade for example, discloses how and why they collect customer information. The PRSA guide mentions that transparency in practice is an acceptable and ethical practice. I feel that the social media experiment is not somewhere one would be able to practice privacy. Gatorade does not hide the fact that they collect user information to better market their products. Their full disclosure is appreciated and can be seen as ethical.
In the USA Today article, the author writes about a few positive uses to counter the invasive data collection. Also writing about the infinite possibilities the data collected could be used for. While the article mentions a few positives there are still negatives. The loss of privacy on social media is a big issue. While there are many privacy practices used by companies. Some information allows for the loss of anonymity by users. The author of the USA Today article has many good points to the ethics of social media marketing.
While doing some research I found an article in the Huffington Post. The article, The Ethics of Social Media Marketing, has many of the same points as the USA Today post. But the article writes on the over exposure of people to advertising. This results in ads becoming more sensational and appealing, to reach a wider audience. But social media data collection is helping marketers reach consumers more personally. Helping to keep a consumer more engaged.
The PRSA recommends a few practices to help keep social media marketing ethical. I feel alot of the points in the article are becoming more common knowledge with more people using social media. For example, the article writes "Operate within the medium openly and honestly...to best serve". This, I feel is the best way to stay ethical with social media marketing.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mateo-gutierrez/social-media-marketing_b_2206357.html

Nathan Lee

10/1/2017 01:37:39 pm

The thought that most websites today use some form of third party tracking to collect personal information is something of great risk. At it's core level you can see how this information can help provide seamless customer shopping experience, whether it saves shipping information or shows other products a consumer might be interested in. However, if any of this information falls into the wrong hands, the risk far outweighs the simple time saving reward. While I do believe that Gatoraide is doing the right thing with being upfront and honest about their tracking and gives a quick explanation of how to opt out of behavioral advertising, it still leaves the question of ethics about their operations. I feel it is unethical to put consumers on any form of tracking without known consent. Often times when signing up for a new website you are required to check a box that you've read the "terms of service" or some form of a policy document. If anyone actually has time to thoroughly read this document, I believe this is where information is explained about tracking. This concept feels rushed by the consumer and feels like the company tries to slide in the information undetected. If there was a more specific section explaining the choices of third party tracking, it would feel more of an ethical option.

With many risks and ethical dilemmas dealing with social media marketing it's important to stay informed and use as many resources as possible. I found an article on business2community.com that lists 7 fundamental ethics of social media that can be helpful when researching. The website contains many other articles about social media but this article specifically deals with ethical strategies.

http://www.business2community.com/social-media/7-fundamental-ethics-social-media-marketing-01571504#F7c3glwB6AHiqDEZ.97

Kristen Edie

10/3/2017 12:28:00 pm

I agree with your thoughts on Gatorade and how they are being up front about it but it still clearly doesn't make it ethical. I also agree with your thoughts on being able to be opt out. The website that you presented I thought is very helpfully in making things more ethical if you follow those steps for social media.

Andrew T

10/8/2017 11:40:04 am

I can definitely agree with the points you have made, Nathan. There is a thin line between ethical and unethical when it comes to marketing and personal data collection. I feel that the risk of using the internet needs to have a waiver before venturing into it sometimes. As the world becomes more globalized there is a loss of certain privacy's. In regards to the internet at least. Along with ones personal information being used either against or for themselves. From the articles I have read on social media ethics, transparency on data collection may be the only way to stay ethical. Good post.

Brett Boardwine

10/8/2017 05:10:44 pm

I think we all have agreed that we appreciate Gatorade being upfront. I feel that the intention of these services is positive, or started that way (like you said). I do understand your point/concern about the information getting into the wrong hands. More than ever this is a strong security concern. It seems every day that there is a new story about hacking of large databases; most recently Yahoo.

I think the question and gray area is with whom the responsibility to keep this information safe lies. As you said, uses are regularly agreeing to tracking and information gathering when they accept the terms and conditions. Then they feel surprised that they are being tracked. The company provided the terms and the user chose not to read them. So the user is also at fault and would have known about the policies had they simply read what the company provided. On the other hand, I know reading every set of terms and conditions is unrealistic.

There is a gray area that has to be explored more.

Jay Starling

10/1/2017 03:49:59 pm

I think its great that they are very open with exactly what they do but ethically I don't think its right they honestly shouldn't be able to share your email with someone else. I wouldn't want someone to give my number to random people either pretty much the same thing. There should be a question that pops up asking you if it is okay to share these sort of things. Honestly the way they discuss it is a good thing to at least inform people but still should be away to opt out of it. I don't think it makes it more ethical. Honestly I don't know what I would do to keep up with me ethical issues in my social media market. I would probably do what Gatorade did and be perfectly honest with everyone but I would make sure that everyone had the option to opt out because that is very important to me. Everyone should always have a choice weather there information is shared.

To answer the last question here is a website link to read and learn more about ethics and in social media. This website was updated July 2017 and it is pretty much the ethics handbook for social media.

http://ethics.npr.org/tag/social-media/

Arlene Hamilton

10/1/2017 04:32:41 pm

Hi Jay; I understand totally where you are coming from. What can we do in this day of "everything on line?" I too felt that Gatorade was open about what they share and how the tone of the explanation felt. Good link you chose about NPR and their ethics handbook.

SHERMAN A STEWART

10/1/2017 05:28:00 pm

Its a forced situation that the big companies hide behind third party companies in my opinion to steal your information. I agree with you its still unethical. Trying to keep up with them is a job in and of itself with this data theft. I am hoping less control is granted in the future to strangers with my information.

Stephanie Russell link

10/4/2017 09:47:56 am

I agree that this is definitely unethical but they are legally within their rights, that's where we have to decide if we choose to continue on with the company we are dealing with. In an ideal world we would solely shop at a Company that states exclusively "we do not share your information", however that's a very few and far between scenario with many companies. These days of modern technology, everyone has their hands in the cookie jar, trying to expand their customer base by networking and whether they chose to attain that goal legally/ethically, that's up to them. With that being said, we as the consumer must be aware of what the terms and conditions are or deal with the ramifications of not reading "the terms and agreements."
The American Bar Association is a good resource for information and updates on the Risks and Ethics in Social Media.
The real question is, would you go the extra lengths to safeguard yourself by always reading the fine print? Would you do the research and check for new updates to prevent potential negative issues with this?

Quinzena Black

10/4/2017 01:54:59 pm

I agree with you fully. It was a good thing that Gatorade openly admitted what they are doing but I don’t feel that it’s ethical at all. First if a person is going on that site to buy something they are not going to search around the whole site to see if this company is going to give their information out to a third party. We all know that these company’s do this but what are we to do? We are not going to stop using the internet so we have to deal with it. It would be ideal if a company asked for permission to give our information to someone else but they know that most people will not agree with it so they have to do it the legal but sneaky way.

Arlene Hamilton

10/1/2017 04:25:50 pm

The tracking of a consumer's visit to a website is almost something that a consumer just cannot not get around. Even though one may have "opted out" on one site, links within that site may have tracking cookies on it. After all, it's the Internet and everything one says and every site one visits is trackable. I will briefly share with you something that I just experience. Prior to doing my homework I visited a shopping site to check prices for items I would like to purchase for Christmas. I then closed the site, cleared the cookies on my computer and then logged on to do my homework. While looking for an article to post the link for the assignment I found an article on the USA today site and what did I see at the top of the web page? The shopping site I visited and pics of some of the items I was looking at. ??? I clicked to the right of the pics to see that info was collected by Ad Choices; clicked that link and was taken to the Criteo web page which explained what they track, etc. and that if I wanted to disable the tracking I would only be able to "temporarily disable" the tracking. Is it ethical for the site to put my interests out there? Does this change how I feel about shopping on line? I wanted to shop and in order to do that I have to use their site, so I'm at the mercy of being tracked. I think that most of us just don't have time to read 20 pages of info on what/how/when we are being tracked and what information about us is being given out so we proceed through these websites,

The Gatorade privacy policy is nicely explained, short and to the point. It is well written as to where the consumer can accept the fact of what Gatorade is collecting and sharing.

Going forward to keep up with ethics in social media, I'm just gonna have to take the time to do more research. As for me, I know not to post anything that would offend any person or post anything to put myself in a bad light.

Some of the links I found that pertain to this assignment are:
https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/behavioral-competencies/ethical-practice/pages/social-media-ethics-compliance.aspx -- This article by the Society for Human Resource (SHRM) mentioned having a solid social media policy in place and a section on how training is the key to making sure employees understand ethics in social media.

Another article I found:
https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/openforum/articles/ethics-and-social-media-where-should-you-draw-the-line/.

SHERMAN A STEWART

10/1/2017 05:24:14 pm

I shop very little on the internet but there are times I surf to find info on a product or the best price. To know your info is being tracked and have no way around it is ridiculous. It seems like the main companies use third party companies to not be blamed for what is happening when the info is used by the very companies that you buy from in the first place.
The AD Choices by name is a fraud because there is no choice and I thank you for making me aware of that very instant of tracking I can expect.

Quinzena Black

10/4/2017 01:43:06 pm

I fully agree with you. I don’t believe that it is ethical with what Gatorade is doing but it is considered legal. I know I personally do not look on shopping sites to see if I will be tracked or if my information will be sold to a third party for advertising. I had the same experience with the tracking. I was doing some internet shopping and when I went on Facebook an ad for what I was looking at was right there on the site. We can’t get around things like this and we must just accept it.

Aaron Bielinski

10/8/2017 11:39:25 am

I'm an individual who finds the gathering of ones information ethical, but I do agree with the points you make in your statement. To me I feel that it is ethical because all company websites seem to do the tracking of the information so I tried to look at it as a business owner and wanting to compete with others. I didn't want to cut myself short. However, the agreement pages to the tracking and even the way it is done is a little bit of over kill. You mentioned that we don't have time to read 20 pages of info, which i agree 100% on. I feel things would seem more comfortable and more tolerable if there was a shorter and clearer way of understanding what we're being tracked on. In addition, I feel like you shouldn't be only able to "Temporarily disable" your involvement, there should be an option where you can do it permanently until you decide to allow tracking. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us.

SHERMAN A STEWART

10/1/2017 05:14:14 pm

In my personal opinion anything we dont offer to companies in writing as an agreement per act is unethical. No one should be allowed to have your information just because you visited a company on or offline. That info is used in such a way it exploits human behavior.

The real kicker for me is other companies buy or sell your personal information yet you as the owner of said information does not even have the option to decide where or whom your info goes to, nor will you get the option to benefit monetarily. That is definitely unethical to me.

A company like Gatorade with its transparent practices is noble. It doesnt make it more or less ethical because they use a third party site(s) to gather data. I still find it unethical because of how they have the data. I should be able to shop, search, scroll, post, like, comment, click, share or watch whatever I choose without someone mining my data.

I am forever being solicited by companies I have no interest in, so the process is imperfect and can never be taolor made unless you willingly give your info and preferences to these companies open and honestly. I dont like being solicited, I personally like shopping on my own.

Its hard to know every little nuance of technology in data gathering but the less info I give the less is out there. Trusted sites are more likely to frequent, and reading up on ways to keep my info safe is becoming more and more necessary.

Camille Anderson

10/7/2017 02:05:11 pm

A written agreement is something I didn't think of because there are so many sites out there. I want to personally get rid of cookies being saved on my computer and see what happens. As time goes on there will be more risks because people are always looking for a companies weakness especially on the internet. The fact that credit companies were hacked and millions of people had to risk there credit and identity being stolen is scary enough.

Brett Boardwine

10/8/2017 05:19:29 pm

Unfortunately, when using the internet you cannot avoid such things. It is the nature of the beast. The only way to truly avoid this information being released is by not participating on these platforms.

I feel like you cannot expect to not be solicited or assume that your privacy is being violated when ads and such are pushed on you online. The same happens in real life. Billboards, posters, and the like are plastered to sell you items. they are placed in areas in which companies think those who see it will be interested in the product. Companies gather information on their target customer to market both on and offline.

Amanda Stokes

10/1/2017 06:31:03 pm

I don’t think its ethical for Gatorade to do it that way, simply because the people don’t even know that they are being tracked. I hate getting tons of emails from a site I only visited once. The unsubscribed button is one button I hit a little too often and then they ask you why you are you deciding to unsubscribed with them. There is always a button “too many emails” so it’s a very common reason. I’ve had to make new email addresses before because I was getting more spam more than real emails. I hate to see 348354595930853 unread emails, it drove me nuts lol. Anyway, I noticed if I click on articles or topics I’m more interested in, later there will be new ads that are related to what I clicked on before. It’s weird how they track you and give your information over to third parties but it’s something that has been happening for a while now and is only going to continue to happen. All online things are being tracked and monitored and yet there are still people out there recording something illegal happening, thinking nothing is going to happen to them. Snapchat and Facebook live I feel like were created to be big social media hits to us but really, it’s just another way they can monitor us and what we post. There have been so many murders on Facebook live and people think oh well I deleted it… so what! You still posted it online and Mark Zuckerberg can bring up anything he wants on FB regardless if you tried to get rid of it, same with Snapchat. The fact that they can even see something you were going to post and then decided not too, is weird and creepy but it’s also something that comes with using these sites or apps. How I would keep up with ethical issues in my social media marketing is basically playing it safe. Such as knowing my audience and what brings them in, staying away from being one sided with certain topics and carefully thinking everything out before I post it for the world to see. Once things are out there, especially with screenshots becoming more popular, they are there for the whole world to see.
http://www.corporatecomplianceinsights.com/managing-the-workplace-ethics-of-social-media/

Camille Anderson

10/7/2017 01:50:57 pm

I think your post is helpful because some people may not know the information you shared. I do agree that Facebook is a little weird and creepy and it is sad that so many people are unaware of how monitored they are. Facebook live was created to bring people together and feel closer but then people decided why not kill myself live? I think that is the worst thing to watch and not know it is about to happen. Do you personally post on Facebook information then find later you see ads for it?

Matt Hitch

10/8/2017 08:40:21 pm

I agree with you that it is an unethical approach used by Gatorade, even though they are definitely not the only ones doing it. These companies have been doing it for a while now, and I'm not sure what we can do to as a whole to prevent this from happening. I'll definitely keep an eye out for that unsubscribe button that you mentioned, but I don't think all of the websites offer that option. We all should be smart and safe about what we post on social media for these reasons, among others.

Shannon Kawczynski

10/1/2017 08:27:21 pm

Gatorade is not the only company that tracks people through their email and purchases. Even though the actions are legal I don't think that is ethical. Not everyone likes to receive emails about products they might like. I constantly receive promotional emails and I can't stand it.

Gatorade also discloses the process in detail on the website, I don't think it makes it more ethical. There is no way to opt out of being tracked or email, if they were to ask our permission to be tracked then it would be more ethical. The fact that there is no option to know where your information is going is unethical to me.

Social media such as Facebook and Instagram also share your information with companies. In my experience, when ever I look at something on google or amazon, or even make a purchase I'll see the same product on my news feed. These social media websites are paid to track users as well, and whenever the user looks something up Facebook will post an ad on your news feed to remind you about the product.

For example, I was shopping for a few pairs of shoes on amazon and I saved them for later in my wish list. That whole week after when I would go to my Facebook or Instagram time line and there were multiple ads for the same pair of shoes I had saved to my wish list. They track us consumers to see what we are interested in and spam our emails and social media websites with advertisements and promotions.

Kristen Edie

10/3/2017 12:11:29 pm

I agree with everything you are saying about it being unethical. I can relate to the issue with emails and they become annoying. I also understand the issue with Facebook and keeping tract of our moves. I have notice the same thing you have when either you put it on your wish list or you already have purchased it. No matter what it still shows up on your new feeds.

Meghan Krzys

10/8/2017 06:43:39 pm

I don't really agree that it's unethical what Gatorade is doing. It's invasive sure, but their model is pretty concurrent with others in the industry. It's how they do their research to better target their audiences. Again, totally feels creepy and not right but it's pretty standard now.

Amanda Stokes

10/6/2017 05:23:30 pm

I completely agree with you that what Gatorade is doing is unethical, even if they give you a heads up, it still doesn’t make it right. The same thing happens to me too when I shop online, it eventually shows up somewhere for me. It’s so annoying with how many third-party sites reach out and try to sell me something. I dread putting in my email when asked, because I just know here comes the spam. Companies are still going to do this because they have been getting away with it for years and still have people buying their original product. They could care less where our personal information goes, as long as we make them some money. It’s sad but it’s true.

Rachel C.

10/8/2017 01:41:56 pm

I have to agree with you when you say that they should give the option to whether you would like to be tracked or not. Even though they say there are ways to block it I feel as if there are ways they still do it. I also notice that when I look something up and I'll notice adds for it on my social media sites. I think there are other ways they can get information with out invading the privacy of internet users.

Matt Hitch

10/1/2017 08:46:55 pm

I think that companies selling customers information is unethical. Companies should not be able to profit from giving customers information out without the customers consent. This is an invasion of privacy. The customers should at least have to agree to this, and have the option to opt out of it as well. Companies should be more transparent about this, and should make sure the customers are aware that they are collecting their information in an attempt to make a profit. If the companies are making a profit on this, shouldn't the customers be entitled to a share of that profit? By giving the customers compensation for this, more people will cooperate and the company will have more good will and brand integrity.

I think it is a bit more ethical that Gatorade lets their customers know that they collect their information and sell it to a third-party. At least the customers are aware of it. The practice of doing it is still unethical. And the fact that the customers don't get a percentage of it is still wrong.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/should-companies-profit-by-selling-customers8217-data-1382635260

jay starling

10/4/2017 05:32:22 pm

I enjoyed your take on this assignment but I did although disagree with you thinking we should be entitled some money for them sharing our information. I don't think we should earn money from them sharing our information but I do agree with you that it is unethical and you are exactly right everyone should get the option to opt out of it. You pretty much took the same thing away from the Gatorade reading as I did its good that they are open about it but its still unethical. Also I enjoyed reading through the link you shared.

John Gross

10/8/2017 07:18:34 pm

I red the article that you had a link to. The heart of that article seemed to be the takes by the experts at the end. Almost all of them seemed to think negatively about this tactic, and most believed that it should not be used. Although, two people said that people should get paid. Would you find this practice acceptable if people got paid?

Kristen Edie link

10/2/2017 06:42:06 pm

For companies to recieve my information through a third party like gatorade is doing is not ethical. It might be legal to do but not ethcially right because your taking my information with me constenting it to you. For Gatorade to let you know they are doing it still is not ethical. By the time you would tell them no they already have your information and sold it to someone else.

There are many risks and ethical things associated with social media. One issues that are a rising with it are work places. They are having trouble deciding what is ethical and what is non ethical in the work forced. I found an article that talks about the issues that are happening around the work force and other issues in the work that are related to social media and the ethics of it.

I personally would keep up with ethical issues on facebook's articles or through the news channel.

http://mashable.com/2012/03/17/social-media-ethics/#N3s3Wqdc7iqD

jay starling

10/4/2017 05:38:11 pm

I agree with your takeaways that even though Gatorade is being honest and open about what they are doing it is still very unethical. The fact that they are giving your information to other people is conflicting with your privacy. The one thing Iv learned while growing up is that anything you say or share on the internet is essentially there forever and who knows whose going to see it. The internet is something we all love but its also away to keep tabs on us. I also enjoyed the link that you shared.

Yuliya Hryniv

10/3/2017 09:22:12 am

The Blog Post is bringing up questions about privacy in social media sites. All people value their privacy and protection of their personal sphere of life. But many of them do not realize that every online move leaves cyber footprints. The Internet can track consumers in a unique way whether or not a person is aware of it. This might includes user’s preferences, political views and interests. Although, many websites track their users across multiple websites, enabling their advertisement follow the user on a totally different sites.

Viruses, malware, identity and brand theft can occur with the use of social media. People have to consider the level of information they share and the possibility that it can be used against them.

Social media marketing has many benefits for the companies. It helps them to reach their target market in a less expensive and more effective way. But it is important to educate themselves on ethical practices for online engagement. Successful companies strive toward building long-term relationships with their customers based on reliability and trust. I think it has to be a limit as to how much information about a person can be used for business purposes. Although, it is an ethical responsibility to be honest and truthful regarding sales items and posting true product information. The company has to considerate client’s privacy issues, personal information, and purchasing details must never be posted in public social media areas. Without these ethical standards, the company can loose clients and their trust.

Amanda Stokes

10/6/2017 05:13:25 pm

I also said something along the lines of most people don’t realize that everything they already do on the computer is being monitored and leaving cyber footprints. I agree that successful businesses would like to build their relationship with their clientele but they should be doing it in the right, respectful way. I feel like I can speak for everyone when I say no one wants all there business out there for the entire world to see. But I can argue that some people like the fame and attention and continue to put their entire life story online. There’s nothing wrong with educating yourself on certain topics that could possible help your business/company to succeed.

Joe Hojnacki

10/8/2017 08:49:07 am

Hello, I like how you mention viruses and malware. When looking at privacy for social media apps, it is important to make aware of viruses. They can impact any social media site and its users. If someone visiting a social media site and the end up getting a computer viruses, that user may not end up visiting that site. Your points on ethics is also important. I agree that social media companies need to really crack down on ethical issues.

Juan Carlos Gamarra

10/3/2017 08:39:17 pm

While the handling of personal data collected by companies through cookies and scripts is an important discussion topic, I think one of the most pressing ethical issues concerning social media platforms currently is the abundance of false or misleading content (especially that which is propagated through bots with an ulterior purpose in mind). This false content can take the form of false content created by unethical Community Managers, or business data figures generated by fraudulent advertisers that use bots to create the illusion that their strategies are generating views or clicks for their clients.
While the notion of “fake news” is a term closely associated with politics, marketing professionals have to be aware that unethical Community Managers can easily distribute false content against their company or one of their company’s flagship products. This is, patently misleading information (not negative reviews) is released and distributed and can reach hundreds or even thousands of target customers and become viral, despite the fact that there is no concrete evidence to support such claims. A common modality by which misleading content is spread is to present ads in popular websites with a very bombastic claim that is supposedly being made by an authoritative figure or institution (I.e. “The shocking new ingredient MIT researchers have found in Subway sandwiches”).
Additionally, unethical marketing firms can present themselves as advertising wizards to small and medium companies, while their “success” is in reality propped up by using false accounts and bots to create the perception that they are increasing the market exposure of a brand/company. This of course does not create any value to the client company, as it will not help towards expanding their customer base or their revenues.
The Economist posted an informative article on this latter subject: https://www.economist.com/news/business/21635497-dark-corner-digital-advertising-business-needs-cleaning-up-dial-b-bot
In conclusion, I think that it is very important for marketing firms to be ethical with their practices and the way they manage customer data, and for companies to be aware of some of the threats that are present in social media.

Aaron Bielinski

10/8/2017 11:32:19 am

This is a great point. While doing research myself I didn't even think about whether or not what I was reading is accurate or correct, showing for at least me, that it's easy to get caught up in what your reading and believing every bit of it. You make a great point in how easy it is for someone to create information and format it in a way to make it look legitimate and have many people falsely believe or perceive the information a certain way. Definitely going to have to start double checking things after reading up on them. Thanks for sharing.

Meghan Krzys

10/8/2017 06:41:21 pm

you make an excellent point. I agree that marketing teams use their propaganda just the same as politicians. It is very easy to twist things into a certain point of view and marketing teams are mainly driven to help things look the best possible. I work for a media company and see how deciving things can be in the various industries especially with the internet and how easily accessible things are today.

Aaron Bielinski

10/5/2017 10:53:32 am

After reading the Blog Post, "Risk and Ethics in Social Media" and the attached links within the post; I ended up believing that having your social media and online activity possibly recorded/monitored was ethical. At first I was immediately able to say that it was unethical, but after thinking about it over the weekend and hearing other opinions on the topic, I have to say it is ethical. While going through the posts and having discussions with people I noticed a particular word that kept coming up. That particular word was 'learn". I noticed that most companies monitor how people use their apps or websites to learn what works and what doesn't work. In addition, most websites have accessible information or agreements notifying the user about their privacy. To me, having your online activity and social media platforms monitored by parties is no different than a teacher monitoring the students. I see a teacher who quietly observes each student everyday to figure out how to best teach them as equal to a company who observes it's consumers every time they use their website/app to best improve their shopping experience. I do believe that a consumers privacy should be taken extremely serious and with caution and I also do believe that there are times where things become unethical. However, in most case I see it completely natural and okay to monitor consumers as they use social media.

The link I attached below contains information that really stood out to me on this topic. "The Social Media Challenge" and "Checking Social Media Profiles" sections really showcased how the professional world views activity and monitoring on social media as not the best thing to do, but it also sheds some light on how it could help out ones profession even in an emergency situation, such as suicide.

https://www.socialworklicensure.org/articles/social-media-social-work.html

When I have my own company that's up and running successfully, I can see myself keeping up with ethical issues in my social media market by constantly asking for customer feedback and making sure that no one is upset about their privacy when using my website/app. I would also constantly look up on the topic via the Internet or news to see where concerns rely within the topic and figure out if I need to make any adjustments to my own company.

Joe Hojnacki

10/8/2017 08:53:53 am

I thought the same thing as you when I first read the article. I thought it was unethical, but continuing reading, I found that it was ethical. It is legal for these companies to use a persons information. Some people will always disagree. But, I think if it is legal, then there isn't a problem. At least they direct you to a link that will take your information off and lot them use it. Companies use this information to help further their marketing objectives and will overall help customers with their shopping experiences.

Camille Anderson

10/7/2017 10:41:37 am

I do not think it is ethical for the Gatorade website or any website to collect information just because you visit there site. I understand businesses want to gain more knowledge about there customers and to make a profit. I feel it is an invasion of privacy because I don't want people to know my every move, it makes me feel like i'm being stalked. Also not only does the website know my information also a third party has my info. I don't know it it is a company I can trust looking through my data. I also feel like that is why so many banks get hacked because sites are allowed to collect private information.

Even though Gatorade's cookie tracking is legal does not make it ethical. A site disclosing there practices is great but if a person does not even notice the tab at the bottom of there page it is useless. I know that is that was the first thing I saw when going on a website i'd leave that site or find a way to turn off the cookie tracking. Before all of the internet tracking marketers used ethical ways to find potential customers for there clients. There are so many ways that the internet can be improved and protect its users information.

John Gross

10/8/2017 11:35:35 am

When examining how companies track our activity online, the practice does not seem ethical. Just because someone is on your website should not allow you to access, analyze, and sell their personal information and browsing history. Reading these articles has shown me that I do not have any idea who has my information, what they know about me, and how it is being used. Gatorade mentioned that they communicate with outside websites and apps to track customer activity, but there is no mention of who they are communicating with. Due to the enormity of websites that could have your information, and how quickly that information can be shared, it seems nearly impossible for someone to completely opt out of being tracked for advertising purposes.
Additionally, this tactic exploits those who do not have extensive knowledge of computers. The Gatorade page mentions that they use cookies, web beacons, flash cookies, and other similar technologies to track consumers’ habits. I, for one, do not know what any of these things are. By the time I would be able to learn how these work, and start opting out of them, my information will have been shared with more parties than I could know. Here is an NPR article that helped me learn what cookies and beacons are, and has a link to a web app that blocks these types of tracking techniques. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129298003

Juan Carlos Gamarra

10/12/2017 08:06:50 am

I liked the fact that you cited NPR, as it is a site with a reputation for impartial, thorough, and ethical reporting. The NPR article cited provided several links to other related articles, from among which Julia Angwin's articles were particularly interesting.
I completely agree in that sites tell you what kind of methods they use to collect your information, but getting to understand how they work takes time and research. While not everyone gets to understand those methods, anyone who visits the site will be affected in case of a data breach.

Rachel C.

10/8/2017 01:37:18 pm

I feel that the actions taken by Gatorade and other businesses are very unethical.
The real question is, how far are we willing to go to make sales? These companies
are basically stalking our lives through the web; seeing our habits and personal
information. I feel that they have gone past the boundary of being ethical and have
entered a down right creepy stage. While reading how Gatorade recorded
information I have to say I was very creeped out. The wording of the article made it
seem as if they had a right to search through all of our Internet transaction and build
data based off of that. While the law allows them to do this I feel that is very
unethical and should be stopped.
One article that I found talks about the many privacy issues companies can run into
with the data that they collect. Most users that leave social media sites state that
there reason for leaving was because of privacy issues. Most of these social media
sites continue to revise their privacy policy in order to keep users from leaving their
sites.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/03/08/data-online-
behavior-research/5781447/
When it comes to marketing for my future business I plan to not use any of these
extensive 3rd party data collectors. I feel that by not using these it will build a
stronger and more trust worthy relationship with clients. Also for the beauty
industry it is much easier to find the information you need in plain sight

John Gross

10/8/2017 06:54:15 pm

Rachel,

I agree with most of your points, but am interested in discussing the last paragraph of your post more. In the first sentence of that, you mention that you are unwilling to use 3rd party data collectors. This is a noble ideal, but is it really practical? Chances are, our information is collected past the point of keeping it private. With this being said, companies are going to continue to use this tactic as it clearly gives them an advantage. After all, there is no harmful intent behind the practice. By refusing to use this, it becomes harder to stay competitive. Is it really so wrong to use this tactic if it benefits your business.

Meghan Krzys

10/8/2017 06:37:10 pm

While I think the actions of gatorade are invasive I don't think they are unethical. They explain to people how they target their audience and while it seems unfair as long as you have the options to opt out of things then what they are doing is just more annoying than anything. It is creepy to think they hear everything we say through our privacy settings and I think a lot of people are oblivious to the fact that it's even happening. Alot of sites give you the option to easily remove your information but not many people do.

Tashana Winfrey

10/10/2017 07:12:31 am

Although it may seem scary, there is nothing unethical about ad tracking. What Gatorade is doing is simply trying to maximize sales. Most of the time people are being ad tracked online and they don't even notice it at all. Some websites give you the opportunity to click out of ads. Even if the website doesn't, no one is forced to click on the ads.

Jessica Workman

10/20/2017 12:05:44 pm

I agree that it is scary. This is where was are now. I do not think they are unethical. Online and Social media and the Internet is and has been taking things to another level. Every company just wants to sell as much as possible and will do everything in there power to do so. Its are choice to use it and keep yourself informed.

james wilson

10/14/2017 10:15:17 pm

I find the reading to be ethical, Gatorade is just finding their target market and what they like. Gatorade also give people a decision to except the email or not to except the email. many sites use and go search your information as well so why would Gatorade unethical. They let me know the process in which they took to let people know that it's a safe process. i don't look at it as more ethical.

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7/28/2022 11:33:53 am

These third parties might link your name or email address to other information they collect. Thank you for taking the time to write a great post!

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10/27/2022 10:52:46 pm

These third parties might link your name or email address to other information they collect. Thank you for the beautiful post!

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11/4/2022 11:17:21 pm

Nowadays, with social media, personal information are easily accessible. In just a snap, you can already some of the person's information. It is good things that there are blogs like this "
Risk and Ethics in Social Media". Somehow it educates us the limitations of social media.

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2/1/2023 07:02:18 am

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Risk and Ethics in Social Media

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