Check out the latest DMAW Marketing AdVents – and don’t miss Jamie Natelson’s “President’s Perspective” on page 3.

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MARKETINGADVENTSAUGUST2015
DMAW Executive Committee
& Board of Directors 2015
Executive Committee
President—Jamie Natelson
Avalon Consulting Group
202-429-6080 ext. 106
jamien@avalonconsulting.net
Vice President/President Elect—Cheryl Keedy
PS | PS Digital
703-734-5700, ckeedy@psmail.com
Treasurer—Kathy Calta
Barton Cotton, 410-565-5040
kathy.calta@bartoncotton.com
Secretary—Alan Rich, Nova Label Co.
301-386-4433, alan@novalabel.com
Immediate Past President—Peter Carter
Chapman Cubine Adams + Hussey
703-248-0025, pcarter@ccah.com
Board of Directors
Dennis Ashcraft, Colortree Group
804-358-4245, dashcraft@colortreeva.com
Samantha Brown, Fundraising Professional
215–287-9222, samanthabrown528@gmail.com
Kate Carr, Silver Marketing
301-951-3505, kcarr@silvermarketing.com
Jim Chmielewski, Public Interest Communications
703-847-8300, jim@pic1.com
Mike DeFlavia Lautman Maska Neill & Company
202-296-9660 ext. 211
mdeflavia@lautmandc.com
Melissa Ford, Mal Warwick | Donordigital
202-332-3124, melissa@malwarwick.com
Sherene Kelly, Wiland
510-332-2477, skelly@wiland.com
Liz Kincheloe, Infogroup
202-973-5400, liz.kincheloe@infogroup.com
Mikaela King, Defenders of Wildlife
202-682-9400, mking@defenders.org
Peter Maaseide, L&E Meridian
703-913-1654, pmaaseide@l-e.com
Shira Mitchell, Special Olympics
202-715-1156, smitchell@specialolympics.org
Eric Rardin, Care2
703-473-2825, ericr@care2team.com
Jeff Thomas, ProList
301-924-4545 ext. 1022, jthomas@prolist.com
DMAW Educational Foundation Liaison—
Syma Mendelsohn, 301-351-4863,
symamendelsohn@verizon.net
DMAW Educational Foundation
Carrie Schweikart, President
carrie.schweikart@qg.com
DMAW Executive Director
Donna Tschiffely
donna@dmaw.org
703-689-DMAW, fax 703-481-DMAW
PRESIDENT'S PERSPECTIVE
DMAW Marketing AdVents: (ISSN 0896-4742) is
published monthly by the Direct Marketing Association
of Washington, Inc., 11709 Bowman Green Drive,
Reston, VA 20190-3501. Periodicals postage paid at
Herndon VA and at additional mailing offices.
BY JAMIE NATELSON
Postmaster: Send address changes to DMAW
Marketing AdVents, 11709 Bowman Green Drive,
Reston, VA 20190-3501; email info@dmaw.org •
website www.dmaw.org
Your communications
are being monitored.
You fit a certain profile
and “they” are tracking your pur-
chases, your movements, key-
words in your posts, and your
interests. They can identify your
family, your friends, and possibly
your late-night hook-ups. They
don’t always know your name, but
they’re following you and they
think they know your deepest
desires. They are the programs
and tracking software used by
people like you and me. They are
the marketers.
As programmer Paul Ford said on NPR’s July 12 “On the Media” broadcast: “Facebook is a com-
pany built on metadata. I don't think they care too much about what you put in the box. They
care about who your friends are, they care about what you like, because they can sell ad space
on that. It is a metadata-driven company. And knowing what that means may make you rethink
some of the relationships you have with these giant entities.”
I myself gave up my privacy a long time ago with my grocery and drugstore card. I have a rewards
card for just about everything and“they”(substitute you and I) know just about everything per-
sonal about me. My eyes are wide open to this, and I am very aware that I am trading personal
information for coupons and discounts — frankly, I want the coupons and discounts more than
I care about protecting my privacy.
However, Facebook facial recognition creeps me out. Remarketing can be very comical when
it‘s wrong. (No, Internet, my baby gift was for a shower. I am not pregnant.) And very unsettling,
when it’s right. We are still in the early stages of Big Data: learning what works, determining
what is ethical, and whether that ethical standard would change if the public (our customers/
constituents) knew what we are doing.
This is the great debate, where tech and flash have outpaced public opinion and the digestion
of what we are trading in as a society.The people have finally (sort of) spoken up about the right
to privacy and curbed government surveillance with the USA FREEDOM Act replacing the Patriot
Act. And if you have not heard, Belgian authorities are suing Facebook for violating Belgian and
European Union privacy laws. This goes way beyond the“Right to Be Forgotten.”
There is a lot of new technology and information available that help us as marketers to better
target individuals and enhance their experiences. It has changed how we communicate and how
we tell a story. And, most of all, it helps us sell … because we are marketers.
Ford wrote in the June “What is Code?” edition of Bloomberg Businessweek: “Every month, code
changes the world in some interesting, wonderful or disturbing way.”So, I write this not to pose
a solution or even to propose any rules. However, I do ask you to discuss, debate and think about
this issue as it impacts you the marketer and you the constituent … because we are all both.
O&O,
Jamie
By the way, Ford’s 30,000-word article titled “What is Code?” in the June edition of
Bloomberg Businessweek (it’s the whole issue) is a must-read. And, if you can, read it online at
bloomberg.com/graphics/2015-paul-ford-what-is-code for interactive fun!