Monday, October 16, 2006

Does anyone care about privacy?

MSNBC is running an interesting article on privacy in America. A goodly chunk (60%) of the American population are concerned about the erosion of privacy, but a smaller sliver (7%) actually do anyting about it. It's a rather lengthy article but worth a read: Privacy Lost: Does anybody care? - Privacy Lost - MSNBC.com.

In Canada, I'd say the situation is similar. When asked, most people will say they they worry about their privacy and are concerned about identity theft, but most willingly hand over information without a thought.

Maybe I have a different perception because I deal with privacy issues all day, but there is a notable portion of the population who care and a significant minority who care a lot and are loud about it. Any business that cares about customers and customer service has to focus its efforts on avoiding problems with this loud minority. If you manage your business in such a way that you'll satisfy the rabid privacy folks, you'll actually improve your relationship with those customers who quietly care about privacy but won't pipe up.

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