Not surprisingly, there's an increasing number of privacy and advocacy groups jumping on the the "blast Beacon" bandwagon.
For those who don't know, Facebook rolled out a new service a couple of weeks ago called Beacon which publicizes a user's on-line purchases to their friends.
The service, which users have to opt out of rather than opt-in, is drawing fire because of privacy concerns. Even Moveon.org recently launched a protest site to draw awareness of Beacon's seemingly sneaky intentions.
Be interesting to see where all of this shakes out. On one hand, I'm thrilled that more and more marketers are realizing the power of influencer marketing and word of mouth advertising. On the other, boundaries are being tested. Facebook can, and is, arguing, that users can opt-out if they don't want their buying habits broadcast to their friends. In many ways, however, people are becoming unknowing brand ambassadors.
I'm willing to bet that Facebook will be forced into refinining Beacon to make it more transparent. True word of mouth marketing and brand recommendations only occur when consumers consciously and willing share their experiences.
