It’s a federal crime to read someone else’s postal mail but the rules for email are less rigid. The latest reminder comes from Google, which was recently reported to have given third-party app developers access to subscribers’ Gmail messages. Google’s response was that subscribers must give the app developers permission in their signup notice. Which everyone reads carefully.
Let’s talk about digital transformation because, well, there’s no actual news today. First an IDC study for Avaya that finds most digital transformation initiatives have been “less than ‘extremely successful’” in part because IT and business managers both think they’re in charge. More disturbing, more projects focus on efficiency (62%) than customer experience (54%). Companies that do prioritize customer experience grow faster.
The mother lode of obvious news is the tech reporting team at The New York Times. It’s my dream to work there some day. Here they tell us that Amazon is favoring its own products over those of competitors. And, more obvious still, they report this actually works. Just the right tone of feigned surprise.
Procrastinators of the world can throw a party whenever they get around to it: Google has once more pushed back complete third-party cookie deprecation. The new target is “early next year.” Reasons for the delay include concerns expressed by U.K. data regulator Information Commissioner’s Office, an ongoing inquiry by the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority, and widespread discontent in the advertising ecosystem.