Your ISP is thinking about pimping you out--are you down with this plan?

It's an unappealing idea--and I'm a marketing guy!

A few companies are toying--no, actually experimenting--with an old-but-now-even-more-improved technology that may not be all that wonderful for consumers--but really terrific for advertisers and internet service providers [ISP].  Let me explain...

It's called "deep packet inspection," and it's a way that firms can watch the actual flow of information between your computer and your ISP--which approaches what the flow of information is between your head and the outside world.  This is very different from "cookies" and there was a great illustration of the difference the other day in the Wall Street Journal [see accompanying illustration below].  

Deep packet inspection offers advertisers--via third party firms who are, in effect, working for the ISPs--to watch what you do on your computer when you are linked to the internet and to determine the most promising commercial messages to bombard you with.  ISPs are most interested in this occurring, for they want to more effectively compete with the Googles [and other search engine vendors] of the world in appealing to advertisers to buy services directly from them--instead of a company like Google.  

This is a bad idea.

Presently, the technology is reported to be used on an opt-in basis--but who's to say if that'll always be the case.  When rolled-out to beyond a trial basis, ISPs will try to make consumers believe that this is a valued service, but you will--because I'm telling you here--know differently.  

I say this because this is the equivalent of alerting the world that you have a telephone that you'd like to receive calls on from others about commercial offers they think you might be interested in!  Who in their right mind would do that?

In many ways this is also a lot like a company you do a lot of business with and inviting them to sell your name and address to as many companies as they can--for the sole purpose of filling your mailbox with what we call "junk" mail!  Again, what sane person would ask for that?

Don't pimp me out, Comcast.

In either case, deep packet inspection is the equivalent of your ISP [e.g., Verizon, Charter, Comcast] pimping your identity and "address" for others to advertise and market to, all so your ISP--who you already pay money to for services rendered--can make even more money!

Speaking as a marketing guy, this is not an attractive plan from my point of view.  I hope that my ISP is listening to me here and doing the word-equivalent of deep packet inspection right now:  Comcast, I do not welcome the day it comes to my computer. And I'm pretty sure most of my friends won't either!

[Note:  I'll post the WSJ article on this that ran last week.  It'll open you eyes to a world of change if these innovations take hold.]
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